Low Tide High Style

My Very Own Card Keyper

2012-02-03T15:06:00.000-05:00

Ok, before I tell you about this great invention made my my dear friend Suzanne of Privet and Holly, and her equally wonderful mom, I have to first apologize for my obnoxious watermark on these photos! In Photoshop, if you don't pay close attention, when you go to watermark something it will pick a random color...this time black, and I also didn't downsize it to make it less noticeable! And I would sub out these pics for my none watermarked ones, but they are HUGE...ugh...sorry! Ok, back to my post!

Yesterday, I received a lovely package from Suzanne at Privet and Holly. I had ordered one of her cool Card Keypers just as soon as I read about it HERE on her blog. I was so psyched that she had decided to take a dream and turn it into reality, and I thought it was even more cool that she and her mom had done it together!

The concept behind their super smart invention is to keep all of those cards we have floating everywhere in one easy place. Now, instead of digging for my library card, my grocery store discount cards, my Panera card, Petco, etc. I can simply grab my Card Keyper and voila, they will all be in one place and right at my fingertips but also not weighing down my car key chain...which I hate!

Another added bonus is that for people like me who switch between my camera bag and my purse frequently, I can just grab my handy dandy Card Keyper and I won't end up forgetting a card I might need.

I can't tell you how many times I've switched purses or taken my camera bag and realized I didn't have a discount card that I wanted. I know, you can often just give them your phone number, but it never fails that when I give the store clerk my phone number it never comes up, so this is so much better! And it's pretty to boot, just look at those darling charms!!!

And speaking of cute, can a hole punch be cute?! Well a bright blue baby hole punch sure can be! But don't let its cuteness fool you, it's completely up to the job of punching through those thick plastic cards without blinking an eye hole! ;-)

True to Suzanne and her mom's great sense of style, the packaging is just as beautiful as the items inside. I will be keeping the bag not just to hold the hole punch, but because it's so pretty!

I love their logo too, and they even include a sample card and instructions on how to use the Card Keyper...those girls think of everything I tell ya!

Thank you to Suzanne and her mom for creating such a wonderful and useful item and for using such heavy duty quality materials. And for demonstrating awesome girl power across the generations!

Be sure to stop by their Etsy store where you can pick up your very own Card Keyper. Just click HERE to order a Card Keyper for yourself or someone you love...it is almost Valentine's Day after all!

Spread Your Wings

2012-02-02T15:20:00.001-05:00

When was the last time you really stepped outside of your comfort zone?

When you dared to spread your wings while others played it safe, keeping their wings safely tucked beside their bodies?

Do you hesitate because you're afraid you might not soar, or because of what others might think?

Because most of the time others don't even notice. And maybe, just maybe those around you won't judge you, or think you are crazy, they might even just keep swimming right beside you and offer you support and encouragement.

And even if you don't soar to great heights, you will have at least tried, and reaching the sky isn't always the measure of success.

Sometimes the success is in the trying. And I just happen to think that people who spread their wings...even just a little, are much more beautiful than those who choose to play it safe and never try at all...wouldn't you agree?

February Already

2012-02-01T12:16:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one who can't believe how quickly January flew by?! Or who has daffodils coming up, way far up, and trees budding out? Are you like me in that you can't comment on other people's blog posts...what's up with that?! Yesterday, I was able to comment on only one other blog, the rest of the posts I tried to comment on I apparently wasn't up to snuff according to Blogger, so it rejected me. :( I hope that resolves itself quickly.

Yesterday, I was treated to lunch by a friend, and it was so nice to get away from buzzing phones and work stuff for a few hours. It was a working lunch, but the kind of working lunch where you talk about how to grow your business as well as getting caught up on house and family stuff. Plus it never hurts to have lunch with someone you like and admire for all of her success through hard work, and her great sense of style, so it was a fun afternoon...Thanks M for the nice lunch!

Today it is back to the grindstone with more phone calls to be made and more emails to be sent and answered. It's a new month, and my hope is that it will be a productive month, but one that won't be gone in the blink of an eye.

So what's been happening in your world? Oh, and I LOVED reading your comments about sewing on one of my recent posts. It was so fun to see who was adept at the art of sewing and those who were like me and couldn't sew a lick!

Perspective

2012-01-30T23:21:00.000-05:00

Tonight, while doing my usual blog trolling I came upon a post by A-M which led me to a blog that put life into perspective all too clearly.

I ask that you take a moment to visit Lisa's blog and read her story of loss, unimaginable loss, and that you will find it in your heart to donate to her and her family. I don't often send people to other blogs when it involves money, but once you read what has happened to her family in the last 4 months I hope that you will put aside your need for that new pillow or decorative item and send that money to her instead. You don't have to say who you are and you don't have to give much, but anything will be greatly appreciated. I can't think of a better use for social media like blogs than this my friends.

And before you go to bed tonight, tell those you cherish how very much you love them!

Click HERE to visit Lisa's Blog and HERE to Donate. Thank you A-M for letting us know so that we can help in some little way!

All Spooled Up

2012-01-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

Here are some more vintage lovelies from Linda at Itsy Bits and Pieces. She included these sweet wooden spools as a gift to me, and I love the way they look...thank you Linda!

I've never been much of a seamstress, but I do love old spools!

One time, back when I was in the 7th grade, and schools still taught home economics and shop...can you say 1970s?...I had to make a sundress.

My poor sundress was looking so wonky that my home ec teacher took pity on me and let me take it home so that I could fix it. I think she knew that if I did take it home that my mother would likely take over and try and fix it. She was a rather harsh teacher but based on how bad it was looking she was ok with a little parental intervention!

Though, with a little...ok a LOT of help from my mother, I was able to salvage it and I actually wore that dress for many years to come. But that dress was the beginning and end of my sewing career for anything that required more than sewing a straight line.

I did lose my mind once when my children were little and I bought a sewing machine. My thought process was that I could somehow channel my grandmother who could sew quite well and made many of our outfits when we were little. I still remember the Alice in Wonderland shift dresses and matching triangle head scarves that my grandmother made for my older sister and me. I loved that dress, but alas, I was never able to sew like she could.

So my love of old spools comes not from my own sewing memories, but from watching my mother and grandmother sew. Pinning patterns onto pretty fabrics, cutting along the dotted lines, hunting for the perfect color thread to match, and then sewing pretty things for us to wear.

I wonder if anyone out there really still makes the majority of their clothing? Somewhere along the line it became cheaper to buy clothes than to make them, or maybe it just became unfashionable to make them?! Either way, sewing is a skill I admire and respect. It takes a great deal of patience, an exacting nature, and a good deal of artistry.

What was the last thing you sewed?! I truly can't even recall anything beyond reattaching a button...

Photographs and Memories

2012-01-28T14:28:00.002-05:00

(Daguerreotype of my Great Grandmother taken by my Great Grandfather)

I hope that each of you goes out this weekend...

to create a few photographs and memories of your own, so that some day, someone will treasure the things you capture through your lens!

Happy Weekend Everyone, I'm off to take a few pictures.

Life at My House

2012-01-26T15:37:00.001-05:00

Finding your place in the world, a comfy safe place where you can grow and thrive is so very important.

Finding that place, the one where you are loved, accepted, supported, and even pampered a little is what we all want and need I think. And when you are cute, you can even get away with taking up all of the available foot room underneath the desk of the hand that feeds you!

Little Acts of Kindness

2012-01-25T13:46:00.000-05:00

The past few days have been a serious whirlwind. Work has demanded every waking moment of my time and by the time I'm finished late at night, I am ready for bed, so I haven't even surfed blogs or the web the way I normally do.

The good part is that I'm making progress, so even though it is time consuming, it is so worth it! And I know that the payoff will be worth the effort.

Awhile ago, Linda from Itsy Bits and Pieces showed this gorgeous vintage Dutch tin on her site. That girl is always finding the best stuff, and her prices sometimes seem too good to be true, except that they are true...so they are that good!

As soon as I saw it, I knew that the colors were perfect for using in photo shoots, so I sent Linda an email asking if she planned to sell this pretty little tin. Much to my delight she said yes, and she even suggested we do a trade...some of my artwork for her tin.

Umm, heck yes I want to trade! So I ordered her prints and she shipped me my tin. When it arrived it was as beautiful as I had imagined, and I've already filled it with a lovely primrose that I picked up at the store yesterday. The primroses at my local grocery store were 3 for $5 on special, so I snapped up quite a few of them in lieu of buying roses or tulips that don't last nearly as long.

I tucked one into my new tin and filled my wire basket with several others. I truly love having fresh flowers in my house, there is just something so refreshing about seeing and smelling beautiful flowers throughout the year.

Of course getting a package is always uplifting too, but especially when it comes from someone as kind as Linda! She didn't just include the tin, nope, she also included a few other goodies, some of which I will show you in an upcoming post. But those darling little clay stars above, well they were tucked in to my package.

Not only are Linda and her daughter (who is her partner in crime) super good at finding vintage lovelies, but they are also hugely talented and creative souls who make all sorts of wonderful things from things they find as well as things they make themselves.

And between the two of them they have several Etsy shops which you can visit by clicking on the links on her sidebar, on the right side part way down on her blog. Just don't blame me if you find all sorts of things you can't live without!

For the past few days I've been up to my eyeballs in talking to manufacturers, learning about anything and everything there is to know about trying to make it in commercial photography. Some people are so incredibly helpful that you can't really believe it, while others can make it feel like pulling teeth, and for no good reason I might add.

But hey, I'm always up for a challenge. I was born competitive and those traits have served me well over the years, so I'm not planning on changing any time soon. But when people like Linda show those little acts of kindness, well it makes you realize that right will always win in the end, because that's what matters most in life, don't you think?

Rescue Me

2012-01-22T13:53:00.000-05:00

The living room and dining room are coming together nicely, but I will wait to show them to you since they are close, but no cigar as the saying goes.

Not much has really changed in the living room, it really is the dining room that has undergone the most change, but there is still more to do.

I have this annoying habit of envisioning a room before it's actually completed sometimes. It's not so much the exact details that I have in my head, but an overall feel for a room that I'm after. And sometimes that can be a real pain in the you know what because that means that you will hunt and search and spend hours hoping from store to store or internet site to internet site looking for just the right piece.

I'm currently on the hunt for an unusual piece to go next to my new cabinet, and who knew it would be so hard to find an old blanket chest for my bedroom to store my bed linens when they are not in use?!

Yesterday I visited a few local places looking for said storage item and although I did find a few steamer trunks and a really pretty vintage wicker chest, they just didn't meet with my vision...sigh.

At least one thing has worked out nicely and that is my pretty new life ring that now hangs on the wall near my slipcovered chair in the living room. I have been searching for a vintage life preserver ring for over a year now, but I could never find one that was the size and color I was after. Then, a few months ago I saw that Caroline of Ekster had some. I didn't get one when she first had them for sale, but when I ordered my cabinet I asked if she still had some and she sent a few down for me to look at when her husband Jon-Paul delivered our cabinet. Voila, it was the perfect color, aged beautifully and big enough to fill the space where I wanted to hang it...everything I had imagined it would be...in my vision of course!

Sometimes I think I need more than a vintage life ring to rescue me from my design visions. Some days I would love to be vision free and just go pick something up that would make do instead of spending hours hunting for just the right piece. But then again what would I do with all of that free time I would suddenly have?!

And to the people who were totally freaked out by the rat photo in my last post, I apologize. I know that we each have things that kind of make us feel whirly inside, even if those things can seem cute to the rest of the world. For me that thing would be bats. Even if there was someone out there who had trained a bat to hold a cute teddy bear and then managed to snap a photo of it, well it still wouldn't be cute to me...so I get it. Note to self, no rat, snake, spider, bat, or other photos on the blog...well unless they are exceedingly cute, because cuteness knows no bounds! ;-)

Winter Whites

2012-01-20T16:12:00.001-05:00

Thanks everyone for your emails and comments about my money chasing adventure at the bank! When I called Mr. Tide after it happened I had already regained my sense of humor, so it will be one of those things I can use as good cocktail party convo! ;-)

My daughter (who is now threatening to buy me a money clip) and son took great delight in saying that they kind of wished they had been there to witness it all. I informed them that it was likely up on You Tube somewhere, so that everyone could share in my foibles!

Today has been one of those gray days, where everything outside looks kind of bleak and colorless.

I really don't mind it, though I do prefer the colors of spring and summer, but sometimes it's nice to give your eyes a rest and to be able to have something not too jarring to look at.

I think that is why we are drawn to white, because it gives us a sense of respite. Now I've said it before and I'll say it again, I could not live in an all white house, where the walls, the furniture, the accessories were all white, or even just tone on tone, but I do love a well done all white home. There is just something so soothing about an all white abode when it has enough interest and texture to not look sterile but serene instead!

I have touches of white in every room of my house and I find that this time of year in particular I am drawn to them. Maybe it's my way of giving my senses a rest before the colors of spring and summer start popping out.

I can't imagine that white, or black, or any neutral will ever truly go out of style. They play so nicely with other colors, and are often content to be the supporting cast so that other more vibrant colors can be the stars of the show.

The funny thing about white is that it is often hard to photograph, so some magazines shy away from all white homes in favor of more colorful fare. I think that we are starting to see a change in that way of thinking thanks to blogging actually.

So many wonderful white decor loving bloggers have stepped to the forefront and shown that an all white home can be beautifully photographed, and I believe that that is why we are seeing some magazine and book publishers coming around to the beauty of white! Information that some designers have known for years.

Photo by Ellen van Deelen

And for one last bit of white, this time pure cuteness! My daughter shared this with me and even if you aren't a fan of rats, you can't help but think this is pretty adorable! The photographer, Ellen van Deelen, who is from Holland, has trained a few rats, (which are supposed to be very clean and smart little rodents), and she takes the most amazing and heart warming photos of them. She even has a book of her images appropriately titled The Rat Pack! Here is a link to her Red Bubble account where you can see more of her work. I'm thinking about ordering a calendar with some of her oh so cute images!

Tell me how you decorate with white, or if you prefer color in your world. Happy Weekend!

Did You See Me?!

2012-01-19T20:15:00.000-05:00

First of all, thanks everyone for your wonderful feedback on my last post where the talented Kelley of The Polished Pebble guest posted and rocked the house! I knew you all would love her style as much as I do. Thanks again Kelley!!!

And before I forget, to the reader who said she couldn't get the subscribe thing to work on my blog, thank you for letting me know!!! I will look into it and try and get that fixed ASAP. And to the nice person who liked my kitchen, thank you so much! Your email isn't enabled, so I couldn't reply directly back to you or the reader who was having trouble subscribing...:(

The photos in this post are what you would call random. They are random because in a way they signify my day yesterday and today, kind of crazy and a little disjointed.

And that's how my brain has been too, a little wacky and all over the place. But hey, you get what you get when you pop by this here blog, some days it's awesome vintage bathroom beauty, and other days it's a votive holder and some bird photos. I like to keep you all guessing, or at least that's what I tell myself as I cobble together posts every now and then. ;-)

The reason I wanted to show you this votive holder, which was a lovely gift from my mother in law a few years ago, is because I think it would be such a cool project for all of you super crafty bloggers out there. Notice I did not say "us" but instead said "you." As you read further through this random post you will see why I don't have time to be crafty. I have time for another c word...namely to be CRAZY, just not crafty. Those years ended when my children entered middle school and I realized I had been forcing that craft gene for far too long.

Anyway, back to this pretty votive holder. It's actually bigger than it looks in these photos, but you could use any size you like, just keep in mind the size of the tissue paper you will be using on it. What the crafty person who made this did was to take a glass bowl and then to decoupage pretty tissue paper inside the bowl. Simple right, yet so so pretty when it is all aglow, like tonight!

Now you crafty people probably know what to use to make this work. I'm assuming you select something to adhere the paper to the glass that is non flammable, I think that would be a wise idea. So if anyone has an idea of what to use, or has done something similar, be sure to comment away and let us know so that the crafty readers of this blog can get crackin' and make one of these pretty votive holders for themselves. One which won't catch their houses on fire please!!

Today I wandered out to take more photos of the bluebirds. I truly think I need a 12 step program for my bird photography these days! And I want to give a HUGE thank you to Laura from 52 Flea for helping me out with some beautiful new textures! She provided me with this very cool ephemera!

Ok, now on to a brief run down of my day yesterday. I got up, did the usual work stuff, and then headed out to visit my friend Ms. M and take her some chocolate chip cookies I had made for her. After a nice visit, I headed out to run some errands, including hitting up the bank.

I had some cash from the sale of my dining room table that I needed to deposit, so I pulled up to the drive-through window at the bank and put the nice crisp bills and a check into the little drawer. The paperweight they had in the drawer was way far back, and in my big honkin' SUV it was hard to reach. So as I was reaching for the paperweight to hold down the bills and the check, a big gust of wind came up and started blowing the money out of the drawer and all over the world.

Now let's just say that a few choice words flew out of my mouth as I screamed at the poor young guy working to shut the #*$% drawer before it all blew away. At this point, I tried to get out of my big ole vehicle, but you know what?! You can't get out because your door won't open! So I may, or may not have gunned it and gotten up to a point where I could exit my vehicle and I began running like a mad woman chasing down my money which was truly blowin' in the wind!

You could cue a version of the song Blowin' in the Wind right now if you like, but it was more like that Charlie Chaplin scene where he is blown all over the place. I mean it people, I was running, all the way to neighboring parking lots, major roads, you name it as those nice crisp bills were gleefully floating away. We're talking $20s and one $50, not chump change, so I was determined! It was like I was on one of those game shows where they put you in the booth and turn on the wind machine and you grab as much as you can, only I was lacking one key feature...the booth!

I'm sure the rest of the folks at the drive through, and anyone else in a large radius was wishing that they had a really good video feature on their cell phone so that they could post it all on You Tube! Finally, out of breath, frustrated beyond measure, and mad at myself for not using the drive-through window the dang tube things that I hate, I ventured inside. I'm sure I looked great, kind of a like a crazed wild woman.

A nice young man working as a teller asked if he could help me...poor dear soul, he didn't have a clue. So I began to tell him how I had been at the drive-through, that my money had flown the coup, and that I was REALLY hoping the rest of it and the check were still in that drawer!

He went to talk to the guy in the booth, and quickly came back to say that he could see more money flying around outside and he would go try and get it. In the meantime another teller, a woman about my age was NOT very helpful and acted like it was my fault that it was windy outside and that their window was inadequate to handle such tasks. She pointed out that that's why they have a paperweight in the drawer...really?!!!!

Before I could put the smack down on her, oh yeah, I was close, the nice young man came back in with a crisp $20 bill and we sat down and counted up what was left in the drawer and what I had collected and all was accounted for, thank goodness! I had chased down $190 in fast flying cash and he had found the last rogue $20 bill!

At the point when we discovered that all of the money had been recovered, we then realized that my driver's license was missing...sigh! We found it outside too!

Ahh, all's well that ends well right? But I think it will be awhile before I go back to the bank again. My family reminded me that maybe my grandparents weren't so happy about me selling that furniture after all...yikes! Or more likely they just wanted to have a little fun with me!

So there you have it, a typical day for me, and the reason I don't have time to do crafts!!!

Have you done anything that could land you on You Tube?!

Vintage - Polished Pebble Style

2012-01-18T18:00:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite things about blogging is the wonderful and creative people you get to meet. Not only do you have the opportunity to hear their thoughts, but you often get to see photos of exactly what they are talking about. For visual people like me, blogland can be a place of endless inspiration.

So it's no surprise that when I stumbled across The Polished Pebble awhile ago, I was immediately struck by blog owner Kelley's unique and amazing sense of style. In my line of work as a magazine writer and photographer, I get to see all sorts of beautiful homes, but there are times when it can all seem like you're floating in a sea of sameness. Imitation may in fact be the sincerest form of flattery, but in a world where vintage has become an all too familiar phrase in the world of design, Kelley offers up something completely fresh and different.

She has a keen sense for using vintage items in a way that others have not, giving both her readers and her clients something to sing about. Unlike so many who feel like more is more, Kelley takes a restrained approach to re-purposing vintage items and pairs them beautifully with more modern finishes, for what can only be described as upscale vintage.

Today, I've asked Kelley to give you all a little insight into how she uses items that others often cast off as no longer useful, and turns them in to the center pieces of her design aesthetic. So without further adieu, here is Kelley from The Polished Pebble!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi there!

My dear blogger friend Kat asked if I might write a "guest post" on her blog!

I love it!

I have yet to do one,

so this is great fun and I hope to make some new friends via Kat.

I hope she makes some new blogger pals too!

so....here we go...

read it

here

or here

Sometimes just a single vintage item

like this wonderful old sign

can bring out the great qualities of a rather simple room....

I found this "Lawnmower" sign at an antique store

and immediately thought it would be great in the

master bathroom

of our little ranch house

Mason jars are another vintage and pretty item for any room, but

make great storage for bath products...

and you can pick them up for just a few dollars

The little basket holds hair clippies....4 dollars at a garage sale!

Overflow items like a hairdryer and lotions are kept

in this antique bamboo cabinet...a bit on the pricey side but it is the only cabinet

in the bathroom

I will be covering the glass with some vintage ticking...

when I have a free afternoon.

I actually don't know where my sewing machine is right now!

That could be a problem

I like having towels in spots that are easy to reach and my towel preference

white, big and super fluffy

This old drafting stool is the perfect companion

next to the tub...sometimes it holds a glass of wine during a long hot soak in the tub,

preceded by a long day of gardening

Between the two console sinks

is this victorian sewing basket

which holds makeup and skincare.

It is probably close to 100 years old and in great shape.

Often I see these for pretty reasonable prices, only to find the wicker pretty beat up,

but they are still very usable.

This one is in great condition.

Additional towels are kept on open shelves

along with more vintage finds

The shelf brackets are from Restoration Hardware...I actually looked for vintage corbels but it was too complicated to get 4 the right size, not to mention square,

so the glass would sit flush

Vintage apothecary jars hold cotton and q-tips

and there is even room for a collection of

vintage Native American pottery up top

I have had that "for sale" sign in a variety of spots

but it's a lot of fun in here

And every room needs a touch of black, right?!

All of the fixtures are vintage inspired

but definitely with a modern twist and I love the shiny chrome

More towels in an interesting wooden box near the tub

The teak tub caddy is a nice spa touch...

I think I might like a teak tub mat too.

The cute little bowl holding the soap came from our local farmers market. A wonderful woodworker makes incredible bowls from orange trees that have been cut down.

Always nice to include an item from your neighbors...!

A few easy ideas to use in your own bathroom

with a little vintage touch!

Enjoy your week

thank you Kat

xoxo

galvanizedkelley

Kelley & Company Home
kelleymotsch@gmail.com

on the web:
kelleyandcompanyhomedesign.com

blog:
ppebble.blogspot.com

houzz:
http://www.houzz.com/professional/6749/Kelley--Company-Home

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to thank Kelley for this great guest post! And to see more of her incredible designs, be sure to visit her at The Polished Pebble. And if you are in need of some design advice, be sure to contact her through her website or email listed above!

Thanks Kelley, you are always so inspiring!!!

New Uses for Old Things

2012-01-17T16:26:00.000-05:00

When I decided to sell my grandparent's dining room furniture, it was a tough decision. I knew that it wasn't incredibly expensive antique furniture dating from the 1700s, but it was still beautiful furniture that had been in my family for over 70 years.

Before I listed the table, chairs, buffet, and tea cart on Craigslist, I decided I would keep the china cabinet. That way I could pass it along to one of my children if they ever wanted to use it in their own homes. I am happy to report that our old dining room table and chairs have found a very happy home. The couple who bought them on Craisglist was kind enough to send me photos of the table and chairs in their dining room, and it looks amazing, so I know they will enjoy it for many years to come!

Because I had a new china cabinet on the way, which you can read about here, I knew the old one couldn't remain in the dining room. So I started looking around our house to see where I could put our old china cabinet.

One day, while lying in bed, I realized that the wall between our closet and our bathroom was the perfect spot for it. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got about moving it in to our bedroom. I could use it to store linens, almost like a linen press, and some of the special things that had been shoved in our closet for too long, like a collection of scarves and gloves from my grandmother and mother. Now, with easy access I would maybe wear some of these pretty pieces.

And I would simply relocate some of my Beatrix Potter collection so that I could enjoy them everyday when I get up each morning.

They seem pretty happy in their new location too. Mrs. Rabbit is fixing something yummy for dinner, and I spy butter and a pitcher of milk being carried by a certain kitty cat in the background.

Having the china cabinet in our bedroom also allows me to display some vintage linens, like the crocheted popcorn bedspread that my grandmother or great grandmother made. And while cleaning out my parent's house, I lucked in to an old Ivory Soap laundry sack that no one else wanted, so I've folded it and placed it on top of the bedspread. I may eventually turn it into a table runner or a pillow, but for now it will live here in the cabinet.

I've also put some pretty soaps, lotions, and bath salts inside the cabinet and I really love how it gives me easy access to things while still looking pretty enough for display.

I'm really glad that I decided to keep this cabinet since it was something my grandparents purchased together and enjoyed for all of those years. And I love that it provides me with some extra storage space in our bedroom, for free!

Have you repurposed a piece of furniture and turned it into something useful in your own home?

The Little Things

2012-01-16T18:59:00.001-05:00

Today was a holiday here in the US, so that meant that Mr. Tide was able to just hang out with me all day.

I love days when he has off from work and we can snuggle in bed a little longer, and get caught up on each other's hopes and dreams.

As much as I love hunting for the perfect piece of furniture, or trying to become a better photographer, it's the little things that truly make my world a beautiful place.

Give me my family, and maybe some hand and body cream in a beautiful box, and I'm one very happy woman!

By the way, I've heard from a number of you that you've had trouble leaving comments on my blog. It appears that Internet Explorer and Blogger aren't playing nicely together. So if you have Google Chrome or Firefox you can comment, otherwise it appears that you will have to wait for Internet Explorer and Blogger to kiss and make up...I hope that happens sooner rather than later!

The World in Black and White

2012-01-15T14:44:00.001-05:00

I don't often voice my political or religious views on this blog, it's something I'm just not comfortable doing. I believe that each of us is entitled to those views, to live our lives in a moral and just way, but sometimes things seem a little bass ackwards to me.

I had planned to chat about my new dining room chairs that I got for a steal yesterday at the Restoration Hardware outlet.

Regale you with tales of how, after a 3 hour drive each way, I lucked into a Pottery Barn outlet closing where the already reduced merchandise was another 40% off. How I bought a beautiful ticking striped duvet cover and this pretty white platter for a song.

I wanted to tell you how delicious these organic honey crisp apples are, and how they are totally worth the long trip to Whole Foods to buy them.

I planned to go on and on about these pretty white napkins, also found at the Pottery Barn closing sale.

How I've been looking for some nice white napkins at a good price and how these were like a match made in heaven for my new dining room. But...

Last night, as I sat down to catch up on the day's emails, do some blog reading, and skim through the online news sources, I was confronted with something that makes all of my great purchases seem more than just a little insignificant.

You see, sometimes we like to paint the world as black and white, but there is so much grey area in this world of ours. Sometimes black and white is a good thing, like in these two photos of Misty Belle and Mr. Quinn, but sometimes, when it is used in a way that is hurtful, it's anything but beautiful.

As a blogger, I now have a sense of fellowship that only other bloggers can know. Especially bloggers who use their blogs to share a little bit of themselves with each of us. Those who put their heart and soul on the line for the world to see, the good, the bad and even the ugly that comes with living a real and authentic life. So when one of us is having issues, I feel like we need to all step in and help out, even if that just means moral support.

Such is the case for Mark and his blog, entitled Our Simple Lives. Kind of an ironic name for his blog, because life has been anything but simple for Mark and his partner Fred, and their 4 children. You see, Mark and Fred are a gay couple who have adopted 4 children.

Now, some of you may be running for the hills right now, and that's your prerogative to do so, I surely can't, nor will I try to stop you. But if you have a moment I'd like to say what I think about their current situation.

You can read much more about it on Mark's blog, and on CNN, where it made front page news yesterday. Fred is a French Citizen, while Mark is an American citizen. The two fell in love, got married when it was legal in the State of California, and have adopted 4 beautiful and thriving children. They have been together longer than many couples seem to be able to make it these days, I believe it's 20 years, and the love they share for their children is undeniable and real. As in the life is messy kind of real.

Because they are a gay couple, Fred now faces deportation, because even though they legally married in California a number of years ago, and Mark is a US citizen, our federal government doesn't recognize their marriage. So now Fred must return to his home country after living her for 2 decades.

To those of you still reading, those who haven't unfollowed me, or made snap judgements, or turned away in disgust at the thought of a non traditional family, thank you. You see, I would much rather see a family like Mark and Fred's, one which has contributed to society, worked hard for everything they have, and given 4 beautiful and innocent children the chance at a wonderful life, than I would half the people I see in what is deemed an appropriate marriage, dragging their children around Walmart at 11 pm. Cursing at them, threatening them, but given the rights denied to Mark, Fred and their 4 children.

You have to ask yourself, why is it that our society rewards people who misbehave like Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardasian with multi million dollar contracts for doing nothing to help society, while it penalizes people like Mark and Fred who kept 4 children from possibly knowing the instability and often horrors of the foster care system?!

As a magazine writer for beautiful homes, I have lots of gay friends, it just comes with the territory my friends. So I can say that my world is a richer and more wonderful place because of those friendships. So while you peruse the latest designs and heap praise on many notable designers, who just happen to also be gay, but then turn your back when you see the injustice of it all, well I would have to say that in my book that would be the definition of hypocritical.

You don't have to support gay marriage, or want marriage redefined, but when people like Mark and Fred's family will be torn apart because the world doesn't operate in black and white, I would hope you would at least try and support them so that our society could have one more stable family to help keep this country's future bright!

If you would like to learn about more ways you can support Mark and Fred, please go here.

Texture Love

2012-01-13T11:53:00.001-05:00

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful comments and emails about my blog anniversary, it's been a fun 2 years!

I thought I would stay inside today and play with textures. It's a blustery day outside, and I've messed up my ankle somehow and have to stay off of it, so processing pictures is a perfect way to pass the time. And, messing around with photos is way more fun than vacuuming!

In the photo above I used one of Kim Klassen's textures, and I have no clue which one. I should write this stuff down, but that's probably not going to happen...sorry!

This one has another one of Kim's textures and I used a brush texture on it too to give it a more painterly look.

Kim creates such beautiful textures, I find that I go to them time and time again. And she is also so very generous with her free textures. If you've been wanting to try using textures, I highly recommend you sign up for one of her e-courses, she has some starting soon. Click here to find out more.

My sweet neighbor gave me these beautiful pink tulips yesterday. I had given her a needlepoint pillow that no longer looked good in my house, so as a thank you, she gave me these pretty flowers. I think I made out in the trade! Although the pillow does look mighty nice in her green velvet wingback chair, so it was a win, win for both of us!

I put the flowers in this pretty pink vase I have had for years. It came with the sheer pale pink ribbon which I love, so I thought it was the perfect choice for my pretty in pink flowers. The texture I used on this one is another free one but from Boccacino. I don't use these textures often, but when I do I fall in love with them all over again!

And here is the same image, but with script added from a free brush set by French Kiss...I love cool new brushes to play with!

Well that's it for now. I hope you are finding something to hang out and do that makes you happy today too!

Screw Ups and Sweet Success

2012-01-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

Ugh, you know how you have things that just get screwed up, no matter how hard you try?! Well my last giveaway, WAY back at the end of October was one of those things.

First, I accidentally shipped everything to myself when I thought I had drop shipped stuff to the winners. And then, when I did get the pictures, it took me frick'in forever to get things packaged up and mailed out. But before Christmas I finally got my act together and mailed everything, or so I thought.

Last week I started to get some of them back in the mail...UGH! Yup, I had slipped a digit, so to speak, on the nice spreadsheet that Mr. Tide so generously made me so that I could keep track of who got what photo and their address. So I had the right name, and the right street address, but the wrong city and state...gotta love my old eyesight and small spreadsheet print I guess! Thankfully it only appears to have happened on a handful of them, so I will be working on getting them off to the "right" addresses this week.

To those of you who have so patiently waited, or more than likely cussed me under your breath for having not received them, they will be on their way, I promise. Let's just hope that 3rd time's the charm!!

In other news, today is my 2 year blog anniversary...or at least I think it is. I started my blog in early January, so I'm just gonna go with the 10th as being the anniversary, because frankly I'm too lazy to look back and confirm the actual start date.

Just like these yummy pecan rolls that I kind of, sort of made from scratch yesterday, I consider this blog to be a sweet success. Sweet because its success has come as a complete surprise. When I began writing it 2 years ago, well I figured it would be long forgotten 2 years later. With the attention span of a gnat, I thought there was no way I would still be blurting out whatever happens to pop into my head on this little blog of mine. So to be here 2 whole years later is a huge success, and something I'm kind of proud of!

It truly has been an amazing journey, one which has led to so many wonderful opportunities for me. But I view those work opportunities as a yummy cupcake, maybe a fluffy white french vanilla cupcake. The icing, which I would imagine is a delicious buttercream tinted a lovely shade of aqua, is what I'm most appreciative of, and that, my friends is what you represent to me.

You all are the icing to my cupcake, and everyone knows that the icing is the best part. It's the part we savor, sneak tastes of, and save as the "best for last" part of any cupcake. The friendships I have formed through this blog are what have kept it going for the past 2 years. Without them, without YOU, I would have walked away a long time ago and done something completely different.

So thank you for the sweetness each of you bring to my life. Whether you just read and never say a word, whether you comment often, whether we chat outside of my blog, or whether we have actually met in person, each of you is important to me, and to this blog.

Who knows what this next year will bring here at Low Tide High Style, but with you guys by my side, I know it will be worth the price of admission!

Dreaming of French Flowers

2012-01-09T20:51:00.000-05:00

It is cold and damp here today, and it even snowed earlier. Hard to believe when just 2 days ago it was in the high 60s here!

Tonight at dinner, my son and I talked about where he wants to go for his special trip this spring.

When our daughter was the same age, we sent her to London and Paris with a friend. It was to be the first of many trips abroad on her own. She loves to travel, and if her finances would allow it, I think she could be happy living the life of a Nomad.

We consider ourselves very, very fortunate to have been able to expose our children to different cultures through travel. And the college our son attends actually requires a study abroad experience in order to graduate.

But before he goes abroad for an entire semester, we want to give him the same opportunity to travel for a week or so to some place he finds appealing. Right now, he and his friend are having trouble deciding just where they want to go.

Of course if it were up to his dear mother, well I would have to say France...maybe Normandy. I've never been to that part of France, but both the beauty and the historical significance of that region has always appealed to me.

For now I will have to settle for looking at these beautiful flowers and day dreaming about my time spent in France last fall. I think if I ever win the lottery, I will become a world traveler. I would love that way more than a big fancy house and an expensive luxury car!

If you won the lottery, what would you spend it on? Would you travel, or would you stay right where you are and build your dream home?

A Little Me Time

2012-01-08T18:13:00.000-05:00

When you've been going at breakneck speed since long before the holidays, sometimes you need a day to just regroup and recoup...you know, a little "me" time.

The formula for "me" time is pretty simple really. All you need is a quiet place, I recommend a big comfy chair or your bed, and some good reading materials, or even a movie you've been wanting to watch.

Of course it never hurts if you have lots of fluffy pillows and some pretty sheets too.

I hope you each find a little "me" time this week!

Take These Broken Wings and Learn To Fly

2012-01-06T21:37:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for all of the cabinet love you gave me on yesterday's post! Things are slowly coming together and I'll be posting pics of the finished room soon.

Yesterday, when I should have been working, I went outside to snap a few pictures of the birds at the feeder instead. It was a veritable cavalcade of feathered friends...although they weren't riding in carriages or on horseback, so maybe cavalcade isn't the right word, but you know what I mean! ;-)

When this little guy landed on the feeder I thought he was a red winged blackbird, but he just didn't look quite right to me. While I was processing pictures, Mr. Tide looked him up and found out that it's a young male red winged blackbird.

He pretty much hogged the feeder, and everyone backed off, except for this little house finch.

The cardinals were not pleased at being pushed aside, and they flew from tree to fence, to bush and back anxiously waiting for the blackbird to leave. The cardinals are normally king of the hill at our feeder, so they weren't very happy about our newest visitor.

And then, little man blackbird was joined by what I assume is his dad, or at least an older brother. The other red winged blackbird looks like what I'm used to seeing when I think of this particular bird. We often see them flitting about in the marsh grasses when we are out kayaking in the summer, and that patch of red is always so striking against the dark grasses. They tend to dash away quickly though, so it was nice to catch him on the feeder and really be able to look at him for more than just a few seconds.

Finally, after patiently waiting in the wings, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal were back to rule the roost at the feeder. She was very happy to have her favorite perch all to herself once again.

This is one of my favorite Beatles' songs, it is so simple, and the melody and words are so lovely. As I was photographing the blackbirds, the tune kept running through my head.

Ok, we have people coming to pick up furniture tomorrow, and someone coming to photograph our house tomorrow...not for a magazine thank goodness, but I still have to have every square inch pulled together. And did I mention that we've been moving stuff all over our house?! Let's just say that I hope she likes the new "antique store/flea market" chic look we have going!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Dining Room Sneak Peek

2012-01-05T16:57:00.001-05:00

Thanks everyone for your comments on my last post. I am struggling to keep up with work demands, so I'm way behind on replying to emails and comments, I apologize for that.

Normally I like to wait and show you a room once it is all finished, but I just couldn't wait this time. I'm in love with a piece of furniture I just got, and I think I might need a 12 step program for it! Sorry for the quick and dirty pictures, but I wanted to show it off right away. See that bolt in the photo above? It had me at hello, and it was one of the reasons I bought this piece, sight unseen from my friend Caroline.

I met Caroline, and her husband Jon-Paul, when I did a photo shoot for Romantic Country Magazine at one of their amazing barn sales in 2010. Through their business, Eskter Antiques, they import wonderful things from around the world and then sell them at their gorgeous property outside of Leesburg, Virginia during the barn sales they host several times a year.

Caroline is a native of the Netherlands, and her taste is beyond compare. The home she and her husband share with their two beautiful daughters has been photographed for magazines, and has appeared in Fifi's wonderful book Romantic Prairie Style, and will also be in Fifi's new cookbook!

So I know that when Caroline posts photos of an upcoming sale, I will always find something to fall in love with. Usually I just drool at her photos because I don't have room for some of her pieces, or I'm just not in the market for something new, but in December I lucked out! Not only was I in the market for a new dining room cabinet to hold all of my china and crystal, but there, staring out from her website, was the cabinet that had been living inside my head, the one I'd been waiting for. I knew right then and there that it was time to sell my grandparent's dark furniture and get what my heart was longing for.

So I sent Caroline an email, and then we had a few phone conversations, and I decided to just buy the cabinet without driving the 2 1/2 hours to see it. It had cremone bolts for heaven's sake, how could it not be beautiful, I thought! And it was nearly twice as wide and way taller than my old china cabinet, so that meant that the special stemware and dishes that had been living in boxes for 4 years would now finally have a home. If I ever move or add on, I will make sure that every inch of space is devoted to storage, because this house is lacking in it, well at least for a plate addict like me!

My only hold back about the cabinet was that it looked a little too white in the photos, and in my head my ideal cabinet looked like an old piece of driftwood. Then last Saturday, when Jon-Paul delivered the cabinet, my jaw just about hit the floor. When I walked outside to see it in the back of his truck, it was not white, but a beautiful driftwood color, woohoo, luck be a lady tonight! I was thrilled that it wasn't white, even though I would have been perfectly happy with something more white.

Because Caroline imports much of what she sells, she often only gets one or two of any particular item and she may or may not be able to get more. When I first contacted her about this cabinet there were 3 other people clamoring to own it, but one by one they couldn't take it. So my first bit of luck was in being the one who got to buy it, and then when it was the color I wanted, had the right dimensions, and was in my price range, well I was over the moon happy!

The other good news is that I've sold my grandparent's table and chairs, which you see pictured, to a lovely young couple who contacted me through Craigslist. Yay for no one killing us when they came to look at it! They will be picking it up on Saturday, and I feel certain it will have a happy home. When the guy came to look at it last night we ended up chatting for almost 2 hours, gotta love it when you like the people who buy your stuff!

So there will be some more rearranging around this place over the weekend. I'll be in full on fluff mode until everything is the way I've been envisioning it in my head since we moved in here over 4 years ago. I just love it when a plan comes together, and apparently patience really is a virtue!

I'll will be posting much better pictures of the finished room, when it is actually finished, and showing you another special item I got from Caroline and Jon-Paul. And in case you are in love with this cabinet too, I happen to know that Caroline will be getting at least one more, most likely sometime in January, so if you are interested, you can contact her by clicking HERE. You can tell her you want the special Kat Kabinet...I'm kidding people! ;-)

And I will be linking to Furniture Feature Friday with Miss Mustard Seed, because for the first time in a really long time, I have a new piece of furniture....YAY!

Me, Dave, and Old Man Winter

2012-01-03T15:55:00.002-05:00

Old Man Winter decided to make an appearance today. He didn't come in quietly, or even gradually, but instead he flung the door wide open and ushered in an icy cold wind that could knock you off your feet.

Now I know it's January, and I get that the weather shouldn't be balmy, but I've managed to live in a bit of denial since October because we've had such unseasonably warm weather these past few months. As our cold loving daughter lamented the lack of a chill in the air, I was dancing a jig at the fact that it was in the 60s over the holidays.

If you've been hanging out here for any length of time, then you are well aware that I'm a warm weather sort of person. I love everything hot, well except maybe soup, but other than that I love warm weather sports, t-shirts, flip flops, the beach, and anything even remotely tropical.

Even as a kid, my mother would get frustrated on snow days when, after spending some time bundling me all up to go brave the cold, I would promptly return 20 minutes later in search of a cup of cocoa and a few marshmallows. I think I only went outside so that I could get that cup of steaming hot chocolate. You know, it doesn't seem right to drink it just for the sake of drinking it, you have to be freezing cold so that it can bring some sense of feeling back into your hands when you hug that warm mug.

There are only two wintertime activities that I actually enjoy, one is ice skating, and the other is sledding. But since we rarely get enough snow to sled, and it hasn't been cold enough for the ponds or creeks to freeze solidly enough to skate on in years here, well then I kind of quietly pass the time until those first buds warm my heart and remind me that winter is done.

I'm not a grump during winter, and I do enjoy seeing the swans return to our creek each winter, but I mostly enjoy this season from the comforts of a well heated environment. So Old Man Winter, if you are so inclined, why not give yourself a little rest this year and move on down the road. In case you needed some sort of permission, I'm giving it to you right here and now, to let spring come a wee bit early this year.

And to those of you who love winter, I get it, I don't begrudge you this season. Nope, I say enjoy every blustery day and sub zero temp you can find. But just as you hate high heat and humidity, I don't take a cotton to your beloved cold and grey skies, so let's just agree to disagree, shall we? :-)

When I think of grey days (yes I prefer the "e" spelling of grey), I think of this particular song. And on a completely different topic, I promised Lili that I would one day tell my Dave story, so here goes.

I am a big Dave Matthews fan, not like a crazy stalker kind of person, but I love his music. It makes me want to dance, sing, and it just makes me smile. Mr. Tide on the other hand, not so much. As a sax and trumpet player himself, he can tolerate the bits where Dave's band gets down with their horn section, but other than that, let's just say that I listen to Dave mostly in the car when I'm driving alone.

About 10 or 11 years ago, Dave was going to be in our neck of the woods, or at least within 2 1/2 hours, so Mr. Tide surprised me with tickets. I was thrilled, I had always wanted to see Dave in concert, so this was way cool for me.

On the day of the concert we took the kids over to my parent's house to spend the day and have a sleepover, and we jumped in our almost brand spankin new Jetta, opened the sunroof, and headed on our way. What should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive ended up being more like a 4 1/2 hour drive, and to this day we aren't sure if there was an accident or what, but it was a LONG drive.

We pulled in to the parking lot of the venue, which was a big open air concert place and we sat there for about 45 minutes waiting until the gates opened. As we sat there I noticed something, everyone around us was far from like us. They were all young 20 somethings, most likely college students, and many of them had been partying for a few hours by this point. On the other end of the spectrum were a handful of older folks, as in much older, who clearly had lost their way when the Grateful Dead quit touring, and I guess Dave was a good substitute....I can see that. But the former Dead followers were about .00005% of the general concert populace by all of my calculations.

The gates finally opened, and we wandered up to the entrance, and the closer I got the more I thought that one of two things was about to happen. I was either going to have the concert experience of my dreams, or I was going to be vomited on by a very drunk 20 something...odds were heavily favoring the latter since it was open seating in a field.

I looked at Mr. Tide and said, "would you mind if we just sold the tickets and headed home?" Now bear in mind, that this wonderful husband of mine, who just drove over 4 hours to a concert you couldn't have gotten him to go to but for love or money, in this case love, looked at me like I had lost my mind.

As with any sold out concert, and Dave sells out months in advance, there were numerous folks standing at the entrance, hands held high with the number of tickets they so desperately needed. We approached a young couple and asked if they wanted to buy ours. They told us how they had seen Dave the night before in Pennsylvania and how they were so "stoked" to hopefully see him again that night. I explained that although I loved Dave, I felt a wee bit old and out of place, which was followed by a lot of things like, "nah man, you're not old, you should go in man, he is so awesome in concert...like seriously!"

Their words of reassurance only cemented the conclusion I had already come to on my own. When we explained that we just wanted what we had paid for the tickets, they almost jumped up and down and asked if we were sure. I explained that with two children at home I wasn't really game to use our one phone call to let our family know that we were now in a Virginia jail for scalping tickets. They gave us cash for the tickets, and gleefully ran into the venue. Had I been 20 years younger I could have been them!

So back in the car we went, taking a different way home, where we dined at Mikey D's and had ice cream at one of our favorite places in Virginia. Driving down those back roads, with the sunroof open, and Dave blaring on the car stereo seemed almost better than being with him live. So maybe Dave and winter aren't that dissimilar for me, I enjoy them from the comfort of my own home.

I have told Mr. Tide, that if Dave ever comes to a much smaller, more civilized venue, appropriate for old folks like me, that I would love to go. So what do you think the chances of that ever happening really are?! The odds, I'm betting slim to none. ;-)

The Winter Blues

2012-01-02T15:01:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited that so many of you felt a connection with my post from yesterday! I think the Year of US is full of endless possibilities!

Now that almost all of my Christmas decor is snugly packed away for another year, I thought I would throw a little color around the house. My collection of blue Ball jars and old insulators will now be providing me with a much happier version of the winter blues.

When I come into the kitchen each morning I will be greeted by their various shades of blue and aqua. And at nighttime I might just throw a few tea lights up there to illuminate their beautiful blueness.

And I will smile when I see the light dance through these wavy, undulating, bubbled, glass vessels.

Yep, now that's what I call the perfect winter blues...maybe I'll even sing the blues. What makes you sing this time of year?

The Year of Us

2012-01-01T20:57:00.000-05:00

Well here we are, at the beginning of a brand new year. Can you believe that it's the first day of a new year?! I truly can't wrap my mind around it quite yet. Even as I packed up all of Christmas today, I kept thinking that someone must have hit the fast forward button because it seems as though it should still be July, not January. Of course 60 degree temps may be causing me to think that way too!

But I've been thinking about 2012 for quite some time now. I'm not sure why I felt that the beginning of one year seemed better than any other time to make some changes, but it just did. So I've been plotting over November and December, not about resolutions per se, but about what I really want to do with my life. Where I hope to be one year from now, or even one month from now.

Today, I wandered around my yard looking like the creature from the black lagoon...and I'm not exaggerating. I borrowed my son's ghillie suit (see the photo below) and I stealthily sat motionless waiting for birds to arrive so that I could take their picture. I think the sight of me in the suit may have been more scary than just lil ole me slinking around.

See what I mean?! I'm sure my neighbor thought that Sasquatch had moved in next door, but hey this was part of my grand plan, my new year, new me plan. In my plan, I would fool all living creatures who inhabit our yard, and I would then be able to take my wildlife photography to the next level, you know, like National Geographic level. I didn't say it was a good plan, but it was a plan!

What I discovered was that

a. Ghillie Suits kind of smell bad...like a mix of old fishing nets and kerosene.

b. All those little string things that make you look like a bush...they don't mix well with a tripod. In fact, they tend to get tangled up and it may or may not take you a lot of time getting them out of said tripod.

c. Birds are smarter than they look, so camouflage is really only good for animals with bad eyesight.

d. Even if you have on camouflage, the big honking camera spinning around on a tripod might just give you away.

So, back to my new year, new me plan, slightly amended to include some reality, ie. Nat Geo won't be knocking on my door anytime soon.

When I visited my friend Anna, who is an artist, yoga instructor, marketing genius, and all around great person, she told me that she was planning to focus on herself this year. Before the words were even completely formed and out of her mouth I said..."YES!, this is the year of ME too!"

So after a walk, and some more chatting about what our vision will be for 2012, she and I decided that it will not be the year of me...or her...but it will be the year of US. Us meaning, anyone who wants to move in the same direction. Women just like us, or my friend J, or anyone really who wants to focus on doing the things we love, finding new things to love, taping into our talents, and really going after the things we want.

Not "going after" things in a Filene's Basement bridal dress sale sort of way, but in a way that helps us to reach our goals. Because let's face it, when we are happy, satisfied, accomplished, well it overflows into every other aspect of our lives.

We are better people, mothers, children, siblings, workers, whatever, because happiness, calm, and focus are all contagious.

Now I haven't figured all of this out yet, but I do know a few things. I will focus on my photography in a way I haven't ever done before. Instead of taking pictures of things I think others might like, or processing them in ways I think might make them easier to sell, I will now create for me.

I will maybe even start a new blog, one that is more photography centered. One that will chronicle this new journey I'm embarking on. That may mean that this blog won't see as much action, though I can't imagine ever completely shutting it down because I still have a passion for design and decor, just not the same passion I used to have for such things.

I see this year of "US" as a chance to do what I want, be who I want. Like the photos above, it will be one filled with realism some days, and others where I will create my own vision of how I want things to look.

I plan to use this year to reach deep within, clean out the clutter, both literally and figuratively, and find what remains. And just like any good plan, I will remain flexible, open to possibilities, and ready to turn on a dime.

So who's with me?! Are you ready for the Year of US? You don't need a special membership card, or learn the secret handshake, as a matter of fact I suggest you keep it all to yourself so that others don't feel the need to give you any advice. Just go out there and do it, whatever it is, climb that mountain, pull those clothes off the stair stepper and get moving, get rid of the people (and stuff) that are holding you back from being who you want to be, need to be, and can be!

I won't be giving motivational speeches, nope, I plan to take my cues from Nike...and Just Do It!

Happy New Year!

A Thank You and a Wish

2011-12-30T14:52:00.001-05:00

As we rapidly approach year's end, I want to say thank you for all of your wonderful support in 2011. You have inspired me, bolstered my spirit, challenged me to do better, given me sage advice and laughed and cried alongside me...could I ask for anything more?!

My wishes for each of you in the new year are that life is kind to you, that you find health and happiness, a sense of self, a sense of purpose, and most of all, that you are surrounded by love. Those are my best wishes for all of you!

The next time we chat it will be a brand new year, one where I have lots to talk about, places to go and people to see. I hope to share all of it with you, the good, the bad, and yes...even the ugly. And I hope you will do the same.

So until we meet again...Happy New Year everyone!!!

Looking Ahead

2011-12-26T22:52:00.000-05:00

Just like that the holidays are behind us. In the blink of an eye the day, the weeks and months leading up to it, the whole year really is almost gone, never to be retrieved again except through our memories.

Crumbs and dirty dishes are all that's left to represent the time and fun we spent with friends and family. And for me, this year will be a happy memory, a year filled with highs and lows, but thankfully mostly highs. Even Christmas, which included our daughter throwing her back out and being bedridden for the most part, will still bring a smile to my face when I think back on it.

To hear my children laughing and chatting while she laid in bed and her brother hung out with her warms my heart and makes me long for those holidays when I knew she wouldn't be leaving to go back home to her own place.

Some years are more memorable than others, and I have to say that 2011 was one of the more memorable ones. It included selling my parent's house, the home I grew up in, the place where my dreams were first formed. Just before we went to settlement last week, after months of waiting, I wandered from room to room and said goodbye. Tears fell, as I remembered the joy and happiness I had found there, and the dreams I had dared to dream in each and every one of those rooms. But tears gave way to relief and the knowledge that instead of empty rooms, those rooms would once again be filled with laughter and hopefully be the place where someone else could learn to dream big.

It was also a year when friends were challenged by illness and accidents. One where they found a strength I can only imagine, and one where they are winning their individual battles. For that I am grateful, humbled, and mostly just in awe.

It was a year when I got to visit Europe again, and was reminded why I love it so much. The people, the cities, the architecture, and of course the food. And being there made me formulate new dreams that include getting back there and not waiting so long between visits.

This year was also a year when my family stood behind me and gave me the courage to try new things, step outside of my box, and start on a new journey of exploration. They did this all while making me proud every single day by living their own dreams, while still supporting mine.

I don't have a handbook for what 2012 will be, what it will have in store for me or for the ones I love, but I do have a clear vision of what I hope it will be. I hope that I will slow down more, enjoy more, listen to that little voice more, and do the things that make me happy while making others happy too.

I took the photo above last October. It is of the river just across the street from me, and was taken with my long lens. When you look closely you can see the houses on the other side of the river, which is 5 miles wide at this particular point. Some people will only see the dark foreground, while others will focus on the water, but the lucky ones will see the tiny houses nestled on the distant shore.

Be one of the lucky ones in 2012, look beyond your own shore to the one you can barely make out in the distance. This year, use your own long lens and dare to look ahead and picture where you want to be and what you hope to accomplish. Remind yourself each day of how important you are, even if you are the only one who knows it, and create your vision instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you!

Do you have a dream for 2012...I'm all ears!

Not a Creature was Stirring

2011-12-23T11:27:00.000-05:00

Not a creature was stirring...well maybe a sleepy eyed pup!

Happy Holidays!

The Imperfect Christmas House Tour

2011-12-21T13:50:00.010-05:00

Pin It

It's been awhile since I took you on a tour of this big old house of mine. Well technically my house is neither big nor old, but hey in blogland you can pretend whatever you want right?! ;-)

Pin It

I thought I would show it to you while it is still relatively clean. Two big dogs (see Misty Belle in the left of the photo), do their best to mess it up regularly! We are having guests on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, and then the following weekend, so I'm trying to keep up with the little stuff so that it stays nice and tidy.

I also thought it was a good time to take a few photos for memory's sake...my memory that is. You see, the dining room will soon be undergoing a change, and the living room too for that matter. The china cabinet, that once belonged to my grandparents, will soon be replaced with a lovely new one that is more than twice as large. Yay, since I need every ounce of storage I can muster in this house.

And the rug will also be replaced, yipee!

Pin It

I haven't yet decided if all of the dining room set will go bye bye, or if I will chose to keep a few of the pieces for sentimental reasons. The buffet would actually work well in our bedroom, so I'll have to give it some thought.

Pin It

If I decide to get rid of the table in the dining room, it will be replaced with this one, the farm table my dad made me. So there will be a piece of family history in the dining room no matter what.

Pin It

By moving the current kitchen table into the dining room, I would actually gain a lot more room in my family room. And since this area also serves as our office until we add on, that extra space would be nice. I might even throw a dance party to celebrate...ok, just kidding! Well I might dance, but one person dancing does not a party make!

Pin It

See how much space it takes up?! But here's the rub, we love sitting here and looking out over the water while we eat...so what's a girl to do?! Maybe a smaller table...yeah that might work. Maybe even something round.

Now, for you Christmas purists in the crowd, please ignore the man behind the curtain. That's code talk for please ignore the fact that I have a fake tree, and that the base is nek'ed. No really, it's exposed, looking sad and revealing my secret that I have a fake tree. I know, I know, it's sacrilegious, but it is what it is. I swore on everything holy that I would never do a fake tree, and then when my dad asked me if I wanted his because it was too big, I said why the heck not! We've had it for about 6 years now, and my parents probably had it for 4 or so before that so we may be back to the real deal next year, but this year it's all about the realistic fake tree around here!

Pin It

Ok, where was I before I felt the need to unburden myself about the fake tree? Ahh yes, I was in the kitchen where I feel the need to explain that my *$&% backsplash is still not in! I did email a friend/contractor who should be able to handle my bad boy tiles which have scared everyone within a 100 mile radius off, so we'll see. 2012 may just be the year of real trees and finished kitchens...exciting eh?!

Pin It

So there it is, my imperfect Christmas House tour. And since I'm posting twice in one day...egads, I think I'm losing it...I might as well say Happy Holidays again too!

I hope your imperfect home (it is imperfect right?), and imperfect life (just says it's imperfect to make me feel better!) have a very good day!

The Shortest Day

2011-12-21T10:00:00.004-05:00

Pin It

Today will be the shortest day of the year, at least here in the northern hemisphere.

Pin It

A day when we will all want to have some extra lights on hand, preferably twinkle lights.

Pin It

A day when Santa and his reindeer will be gearing up for their big trip around the world in just a few days.

Pin It

No matter where you live, I hope today will be a day full of joy and happiness, and that you'll find your own bit of sparkle!

Home for the Holidays

2011-12-20T14:05:00.002-05:00

Pin It

I think I'm finally done.

Pin It

Done decorating...

Done shopping...

And just able to sit back and enjoy the season. Enjoy the blessing of having a place to call my own, a place to welcome friends and family and share in the spirit of the season. This is home, where I can hang my hat and my Christmas ornaments!

Give a Little Bit

2011-12-17T09:19:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have days where you think, wow that was an amazing day? They are the kind of days that cancel out 3 or 4 bad days because they are just that good. Yesterday I had one of those days.

I was supposed to be cleaning, getting ready for company,but instead I visited with a friend who had moved into her new house. Her name is Anna, and besides being super smart, supportive, and beautiful, she also lives in the most amazing house.

We have been trying to hook up since the summer when they first moved in, and it took until now for me to get over there and see it. I came away from our visit thinking...I should tear my house down and start over, that's how truly gorgeous her new home is. But even better than the house was the time we spent chatting, going for a walk, and just getting caught up. Anna is a giver, she is someone who listens to what you have to say, gives wonderful advice, and shares with you what's going on in her own life. We talked about dreams we have for 2012 and how we plan to make them all come true.

I'm lucky to have wonderful women in my life. Strong, smart, and beautiful women, both inside and out, who I get to call my friends, and for that I will be forever thankful.

While I was visiting with Anna I mentioned that I was having trouble deciding if I should keep my dining room furniture or not. It belonged to my grandparents, though it's not super old, it's Duncan Phyfe and so not my style anymore. I explained that I had found the perfect china cabinet, that I really wanted to make a change, but that I felt horribly guilty about letting it go.

Anna said that maybe I should sell the furniture and do something good with some of the money, something that would honor my grandparent's memory and still allow me to get my new cabinet. When I got home yesterday afternoon after having lunch with my son (another procrastination technique to avoid cleaning), there was a lovely email from Anna telling me to sell the furniture and she sent me a link.

The link, which I've posted at the bottom of this post, is about how people have been going to K'mart and paying off people's layaway accounts except for a few pennies. They leave a few cents on the account so that K'mart's system doesn't close it out completely. Then the people are notified that their accounts have been paid off, many of whom thought they wouldn't be able to get those items since they were delinquent on their accounts.

Mr. Tide and I watched the video together, getting teary eyed at the plight of some of these people and feeling sad at the thought of these people working so hard to provide a little bit of joy for their children or grandchildren but just not having enough to make it all work.

We always donate at the holidays, and all year long, but we really hadn't done as much this year as we wanted to. So we hopped in the car, drove to K'mart and stood in line for almost an hour. We were waiting for everyone to clear out. When we first got to the store there were plenty of people in line, some making payments, others paying off their accounts, but you have to be careful. You never know if someone will see your giving as generous, or if it will hurt their pride that someone is trying to do a good deed, so we waited and then approached the cashier after everyone had left.

We explained why we were there and told her that we wanted to pay off someone's delinquent account. That we hoped she could look up an account where there were toys for a young child, someone who still believed in Santa. She immediately smiled and said, "oh you guys are some of those people, I wondered why you were just waiting here for so long without coming to the register." The girl working the register took her time, amazing really since we saw first hand how busy they had been all day. She went through the list of delinquent accounts until she found one with toys, Dora the Explorer, etc. and said, this one looks like it's for someone with small kids.

She gave us the balance, and we paid all but 47 cents so that the account would stay active. We then asked if they would call the family to let them know that they could pick up their items and she assured us she would. She said she knew they would be thrilled, that the man on that account had been in the store that day and he wasn't sure he could pay it off by the 20th but he would try his best.

We don't know the people whose account we paid for, and they will never know us. But they will know that someone reached out a helping hand, maybe when they needed it the most, and hopefully if they are ever in a position they will do the same for someone else. That's the beauty of giving, it makes everyone feel better.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/anonymous-donors-pay-off-kmart-222535611.html

Up On the Rooftop

2011-12-15T15:51:00.000-05:00

Santa and his faithful reindeer paid me a visit today, along with some bokeh courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations.

You can't always have the real thing, so adding a bokeh texture is the next best thing to being there! ;-)

The reindeer approve, they are all about the bling!

And who doesn't love a little sparkle this time of year?!

Santa certainly seems happy, though he does look a little like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz, just sayin'!

Thank you to those of you who commented on my last post. When you have lost loved ones, the holidays can sometimes be a little sad. And to Tybee Dreaming, I'm sorry for your loss, I couldn't send you an email because your email isn't enabled in your profile.

And to the lovely Maya from Completely Coastal, my sand and sea soul sister, thank you for featuring my blog today!!!

Vintage Christmas Memories

2011-12-14T14:53:00.001-05:00

Each year...

When I rummage through my Christmas tubs...

And come across the things that have been in my family for as long as I can remember...

And some things that I've picked up along the way, that were in someone else's family...

Things that someone else didn't want to remember, or forgot about years ago...

I think of those who are no longer with me during the holidays...

And for a moment I am sad...

But then I remember, especially as I hold an ornament from my childhood in my hand, that those we love are always with us, celebrating right alongside us. So even though we aren't together in the physical sense, we are forever connected, and for me, that's what makes Christmastime so special.

Merry Christmas to all the family and friends who are no longer here on earth with me, but are always by my side and forever in my heart!

Eat Too Much?

2011-12-13T16:06:00.001-05:00

(click images to enlarge)

Feel like you've been indulging a little too much in all of those holiday yummies?!

Well you're not alone.

Even the birdies have been feasting on some holiday treats.

This Cardinal was caught with his beak in the proverbial cookie jar! ;-)

And here's little Miss Misty Belle gnawing on a stick and waiting for me to come back inside the fence to give her breakfast this morning...and she's hoping for something special too, like some apple or cheese.

I'm off to make a dessert for a luncheon tomorrow. Yup, it's that time of year, so enjoy every minute of it!

Thanks again for all of your wonderful emails and comments about my post over at The Polished Pebble! And thank you Kelley for featuring me!

The Polished Pebble

2011-12-12T21:23:00.001-05:00

(Mrs. Cardinal's tree is all decorated for Christmas)

Wow, can you believe it, 2 posts in one day?! I know, I don't normally do that, but I wanted to tell you that I'm so excited to be featured over at Kelley's amazing blog, The Polished Pebble!

Kelley is an amazing designer and one I really respect. She doesn't just re-hash what other people are doing. Instead, she is fresh, innovative, and oh so clever with how she transforms rooms and whole houses into magazine worthy places that make you want to move right in. So when she asked if she could feature me, I was truly honored.

Thanks so much Kelley! And to read the post just click HERE!

Shake it Up

2011-12-12T12:02:00.000-05:00

Be yourself, decorate with the things you love, find the joy...shake it up and live a little!

According to Plan

2011-12-11T12:48:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for your wonderful birthday wishes, I had a great day! It started with lovely cards from my family and a special gift from Mr. Tide. He bought me a teleconverter for my big lens. It is a special piece of equipment that can give your lens even more range, so it's great for trying to capture wildlife or things that are far, far away.

I slapped that puppy on just as soon as I could unwrap it and get it out of the box. But there was a slight problem, it wouldn't work unless you were using manual focus. This particular teleconverter overrides the auto focus feature on my camera. Now that wouldn't be a problem except that the whole point of extending my telephoto lens was so that I could capture better shots of wildlife, like eagles, swans, herons, etc.

All of those feathered friends I just mentioned aren't too keen on just sitting still and posing for portraits. They are constantly moving, even if it's just a tiny head movement, so trying to use manual focus on something that is forever in motion just doesn't work. And on today's digital cameras there isn't even a really great way to make sure you have sharp focus. Remember on old film cameras when you could line up the two halves of the circle to make sure you were in focus...well those days are gone! I would like to say that I can see as well as I did 20 years ago, especially for distance stuff, but the truth is I can't, so even on things that were sitting stock still I couldn't get a nice sharp photo.

That meant that the only present Mr. Tide had gotten me for my birthday was heading back from whence it came. I was fine with it, but he was really bummed. It all worked out in the end though, and I ended up getting a few other lovelies to make up for it which I will show you soon. In the meantime, I am back to long distance shots of eagles...these two were in my neighbor's tree today and I'm pretty sure I overheard them snickering about my eyesight and the fact that my teleconverter didn't work according to plan.

And another little hiccup of late, the winners of my last giveaway, I know you think I have forgotten you and left you in the lurch. While I was sitting here thinking your photos were winging their way to your respective homes I got a little shock on Saturday when the mail was delivered. I had carefully entered your addresses into the website of the place where I get prints made, only to have forgotten to click the "drop ship" button on each one. So that means that it defers to my address as the default address...huge sigh! So, your photos are all at my house and not with you...another huge sigh! I braved Walmart (have I mentioned how much I hate Walmart?!) and bought some photo mailers so that I can get them in the mail by early this week.

Sometimes life just doesn't go according to plan I tell ya! But hey, no one died, so it's all good in the end!

Shells for Christmas

2011-12-08T10:47:00.000-05:00

No words today...well these are words, but you know what I mean. It's my birthday, I'm 29...again!!!...and my dear husband bought me a new toy to use on my camera, so I'm off to try it out! I hope you enjoy these shots of my Hepplewhite chest all decked out for Christmas!

Oh, a few more words...thank you for all of your wonderful comments about my kitchen windowsill, and my other coastal themed decor from my last few posts! Have a wonderful day!

Coastal Christmas in the Kitchen

2011-12-07T10:00:00.006-05:00

First of all, I want to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor on this day 70 years ago. May we hold them in our hearts forever.

I finally have something I can share for a few link parties, which I haven't done in a REALLY long time.

I gave you a sneak peek of my kitchen windowsill a few days ago, but I finally finished it up by adding some greens and a few other things here and there, so I thought I would share the whole thing with you today. I know it's not the 9th yet, but I'm not good at being patient, so here goes!

Plus, I still have a few more things to put out in here, so I will share more once I have the whole room finished, but I didn't want to miss out on the party. I love a good party after all, and I've loved seeing the wonderful posts others have shared over the past few weeks. There is so much talent in blogland, it boggles my mind sometimes!

Ok, enough chit chat, on to the decorating! The inspiration for this year's windowsill was mother nature, burlap, and turquoise/aqua.

I started with my blue ball jars, knowing that I wanted them to be a focal point and provide some color. I wasn't sure if I wanted to put lights in them like I had done in years past, but finally settled on a more simple approach and added little baby cedar trees to them instead.

I lived with those on the windowsill for a few days before deciding which direction to head in. Then I remembered that I had some burlap ribbon, so I strung that all along the windowsill which gave it some nice texture.

I tend to let my decorating evolve over time, but I usually have some sort of vision of how I want it to end up, or at least which elements I want to use. I loved the blue of the mason jars, but I felt like something was missing until it dawned on me that I could use my turquoise/aqua insulators as votive holders. They add just the sparkle I was looking for, and they look so pretty when I light the little tea lights each evening. And I also love that they are chipped, don't all match, and are well worn, all part of the rustic charm I was hoping to achieve this Christmas.

As I wandered around my house gathering things to add, my collection of seashells seemed like a logical choice to incorporate into my coastal themed vision. I have all sorts of shells, so I just grabbed a few and spaced them out over the sill.

I debated on putting 3 blue ball jars, one in front of each window, but I felt like it needed a little height in the center, so I grabbed these wooden shore birds which normally sit on top of the TV armoire in the living room during the warmer months. And I fashioned a wreath out of cypress to hang on the biggest birdie.

Just below the windowsill, next to the sink, I added some vintage ornaments that had belonged to my parents and grandparents and a few other ornaments I have collected over the years. I purchased the peppermints on copper wire a few years ago, and since I didn't have anything yummy to fill my candy jar with, they did the trick! A pretty white Cyclamen I picked up the other day when I bought my wreaths is nestled into a big red bowl. I love to have flowers around all throughout the year, but especially when everything outside is on its way out.

Santa seems to be eyeing something to his right...not sure what, let's hope he's not trying to make a break for it!

And because it's Christmastime, it never hurts to remind ourselves to believe, in whatever makes your heart sing.

Candy canes fill a pudding basin and get weighed in along with some fresh greens on top of my vintage scale. My little sea urchin votive holder adds a little more sparkle to the kitchen.

So there it is, my coastal cottage inspired Christmas kitchen. I think baking will be a lot more fun in here this year! I can't wait to see what the rest of you did in your kitchens!

Click HERE to see more Christmas in the Kitchen inspiration! And to visit some of the other Christmas link parties you can check out the list below.

AND

Click HERE to visit the Christmas Home Tours at The Inspired Room!

AND

I am also linking up to the 24 Days of Coastal Christmas at Sally Lee by the Sea! Click HERE to see more Coastal Christmas decorating ideas!

Simply Put

2011-12-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

In keeping with my Coastal Cottage Christmas theme, I decided to decorate my living room sparingly and mostly with natural elements. On top of the TV armoire, I added numbered mixing bowls (which were a birthday gift from my daughter last year), and filled them with fresh cedar. Starfish resting between each bowl adds a touch of beachy'ness and conveys the coastal feel that I wanted to have all throughout the house this year. The two musical Santas on the far left are from the 1960s and bring back memories of my childhood as my mom put them out every year. I also love that their bright red outfits add a pop of Christmas color to the room.

I filled my glass wall vase with sprigs of cypress and tucked a single white poinsettia blossom in it to continue the green and white theme. The white chenille throw belonged to my grandmother, and most likely dates from the 50s. The nautical themed pillow was a steal that I got from Williams-Sonoma Home last year, I think I paid $19 for it and it included the down insert and free shipping...woohoo!

Simply put, I didn't spend a dime on this decor, and you have to love that this time of year when spending can get out of hand.

I hope you are all off to a great week, and that you've found your groove this holiday season!

The Manger Down the Road

2011-12-05T21:39:00.001-05:00

This time of year, as I drive past the sheep farm down the road, I can't help but hum a few Christmas tunes to myself...especially this one!

A Coastal Cottage Christmas Sneak Peek

2011-12-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments, not just on my last post, but on every post! You are my inspiration! When I visit your blogs, stop by your Pinterest sites, or get your emails I find myself striving to try new things, expand my horizons, and just be a better person...so thank you!

And speaking of getting emails, the email gremlins struck again this week. I know I sound like I'm beating a dead horse, but it's gone from just being annoying to really affecting my work and lifestyle! Apparently a friend sent us an email inviting us to a Christmas party this evening, and if they hadn't texted me last night asking if we would be coming, we would have missed it completely...ugh! So dear email, you can mess with a lot of things but I'm putting you on notice that you better not mess with my social life by losing party invites!!!

So, on to a sneak peek of my kitchen Christmas decor. Like I said, this year will be simple, and I've coined the term Coastal Cottage Christmas for the look. Oh heck, I'm sure someone else coined that phrase, but I'm going with it. Mr. Tide and I stopped by a friend's house last night, and as we chatted about how as you get older you sometimes lose your gumption to put stuff out, we all decided that less truly is more for us these days. I noticed that she too had embraced a simpler style of decor and her house was warm, cozy and beautiful!

As you can tell by the photos of my kitchen windowsill, this year will be a little less dazzling, not like in years past, which you can see by clicking HERE and HERE. Still, I'm loving the natural elements, the pops of turquoise, which will be a theme found throughout my holiday decor this year. And I'm not completely done with the windowsill yet, I will be adding a few votives so that I have a bit of dancing light up there in the evenings, just not the twinkle of Christmas lights like in years past.

I also managed to get a few greens and two big beautiful wreaths from a local Mennonite family yesterday. I love, love, love the smell of fresh greens and can't wait to incorporate even more around the house over the next few days. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing more pictures of my house during this year's holiday season, so stay tuned.

Looks like I'm on track, on budget, and still completely out of my mind...which is as it should be! ;-)

I hope you each have a wonderful week, and keep those inspirational posts coming!

In Shreds

2011-12-03T12:50:00.000-05:00

I'm making progress on my Christmas decorating for this year. As you may remember, I was torn between using all of my traditional decor, or going with a more simplistic and natural approach. I finally decided to go with a more restrained look this year, and I'm embracing a coastal cottage look that I'm liking a lot. I've also decided that I will try and only use what I have on hand or what I can find in nature. My goal is to spend little or no money aside from buying some fresh greens that I can't find on my own.

There are still many more things to do...weird since simple should mean I'm done already right?! What I have found is that simple isn't always easy. I find it takes a lot more thought to use less and edit out the unnecessary yet still have it convey a festive look. And I've always thought that I was a less is more sort of person, turns out I'm a more is more kind of person, but I'm liking moving over to the "light" side!

As much as I'm loving my pared down look for the holidays, I'm not loving some other things going on around here these days! Like my email which is still giving me fits! The fact that our son's tire blew out while he was driving home...thankfully he was fine! The money I set aside to finish our backsplash is now going to 4 shiny new tires, which aren't cheap. I dearly want my backsplash done, but I want our son to be safe WAY more!

And speaking of shredding, Misty Belle, yes that cute little pup, who is over a year old now, has taken to chewing on things! The other evening while watching Glee in our living room I caught her nibbling on the skirt of the couch. What the heck?! She has never done that before!

I guess sometimes, even when you are finding your groove in one part of your life, another part can be completely in shreds. Let's hope she gets through this wacky phase quickly. I know I've said I want a new sofa for my living room, but she didn't have to take it so literally, unless of course she has a puppy bank account with a furniture fund in it that I'm unaware of!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

My Dream House

2011-12-01T08:50:00.000-05:00

I have this recurring dream, well it's a nightmare really. It starts out innocently enough with Mr. Tide and I shopping for a big new house.

The house has plenty of rooms with high ceilings, a large well appointed kitchen, and lots and lots of storage. The high ceilings and storage are both things we desperately lack in our current house, so my "dream" house seems like the perfect place to move.

Sometimes my dream house is also located on the water, just like this house, and sometimes it's even better waterfront, with a big huge pier and a luxurious boat at the end of it.

But each and every time in my dream when we have bought the other house, and we're moving out of this one, I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness...shear despair actually! I break down in tears at the thought of leaving this little house behind. The dream always ends the same way, with me crying and regretting our decision to move.

So I guess with all of its quirkiness, lack of storage, 8 foot ceilings, and other shortcomings, I really, truly do love this place. And when we have a sunset like the one pictured above (these photos are all straight out of the camera), well I think it's easy to see why leaving this place would break my heart!

In other news...I am WAY far behind on returning emails, or replying to comments, but I will get there...maybe, hopefully!

And the song below, which was written in 1943 during WWII, is probably not unlike my dream, only much, much worse. Not knowing if you would ever come home and be with your family again at Christmas must have been a nightmare I can't even begin to imagine! I hope that during the hustle and bustle of this crazy season, you will slow down and really enjoy those around you, and not focus on the things you and everyone else wants, but be thankful for everything you have!

Holiday Cards and Other Stuff

2011-11-27T18:41:00.003-05:00

(click to enlarge any photo)

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and to those of us who stuffed ourselves silly, I hope you are now feeling a little better!

We spent the holiday with extended family, and then the past few days were occupied with yard work and hanging Christmas lights. We also have our daughter to blame for our new addiction to the show Glee. I had never seen it before, so she suggested we watch it on Netflix from the very beginning. We watched 4 episodes back to back on Saturday evening and then another 2 this morning before she headed back to DC!

I have to say that I love nothing more than to have all of my birdies in the nest, so this weekend was wonderful for me and Mr. Tide. My Dad used to always say how nice it was to have everyone at home during the holidays, and I now understand why it meant so much to both he and my mom. And it's funny, but my mother in law said the same thing when we left after our recent visit, that she remembered her own grandfather being teary eyed when they all left their family cabin each year.

I guess that's how life works, you rush around raising your little chicks with the intention of them flying from the nest. But it sure is nice when they fly back home for a few days!

And speaking of birds, Mr. Tide and I have now officially declared ourselves old people. And about a week ago we purchased a bird feeder. The reason I say "old" is because when you are younger it seems like only old people enjoy watching or feeding birds. Shoot, even in the movie Mary Poppins the lady that feeds the birds is older! So we've always assumed, and maybe wrongly so, that bird watching was for old people, or maybe we ARE old now! I would like to think that maybe we aren't old, but that we have just discovered a new found appreciation for everything ornithology! ;-)

After waiting a week for birds to grace our feeder, we were welcomed this morning by lots of little birds anxious for their own version of Thanksgiving leftovers. I don't claim to know them all, but since I'm embracing my old person persona, I will likely have to break out the bird book soon so that I can be in the know about which ones are which!

I did however recognize a female cardinal without too much thought, and so I happily snapped away at her as she perched atop the wrought iron shepherd's hook that holds the feeder. I was amazed at the clarity of some of the shots, so I decided to turn a few of the images into holiday cards.

I know that these would be more striking if it had been a male cardinal who had visited us today, but I still think Mrs. Cardinal deserves her due. It's kind of like Santa and Mrs. Clause, no one lines up to see Mrs. Clause...poor dear!

I used a combination of things on these photos including the new free texture I got today from Kim Klassen, it's called Poetic, and I think that is a fitting name for this lovely new texture! The top textured photo also has a free texture by Leslie Nicole. I also highly recommend you purchase some textures from these lovely ladies as they have some great ones to choose from, and some are even on sale right now!

The other overlays I used (except for the one in the photo above which I can no longer find the source for!) all came from The Graphics Fairy. I love finding beautiful license free imagery from The Graphics Fairy, it is one of my favorite places to go hunting for special clip art and backgrounds...especially for holiday projects like cards!

So there you have it, I'm slowly getting into the holiday spirit. I was so pumped to get going on decorating this weekend, and then my dear husband lugged all of my Christmas tubs inside only to realize that my enthusiasm had waned slightly upon seeing just how much "stuff" I have!

In my head, I had visions of boxwood wreaths and all white trees, but my tubs full of holiday decor did not agree with my pared down simplistic approach this year. And had Mr. Tide not pulled a muscle in his shoulder bringing said tubs into the house, well I probably would have sent them right back to the garage. Instead I am letting my brain battle it out to see which will win, simplicity or surplus! Until I do, those bins will act as wonderful ottomans for nearly every seat in the living room. Which is perfect for watching more episodes of Glee right?!

A Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:44:00.000-05:00

If you are easily offended, a pastry chef, or anyone who has a picture perfect Thanksgiving each year with people beautifully groomed sitting around the table passing non stop compliments to one another...well then you might need to turn away now!

Since my mother passed away over 7 years ago, Thanksgiving has lost a bit of its polish. My mother, who was the consummate entertainer, pulled off spectacular holiday dinners without even batting an eye or breaking a sweat. It was not uncommon for us to have 25+ people each Thanksgiving sitting around tables adorned with Waterford crystal, Wedgwood china, and lavish floral arrangements.

While both of my parents were still living, I also hosted a few Thanksgiving and Easter dinners at my house and I adhered to the strict silver, crystal, china rules I had known growing up. My children were beautifully attired for these events and I even managed to look pretty good myself when it was all said and done and the guests arrived.

But after my mother passed away some of the formality and Martha Stewart type attention to detail fell by the wayside. Carefully basted turkeys gave way to deep fried, a la my brother, and green bean casserole dared to make an appearance alongside the traditional corn pudding...my mother would be aghast at this! We do still set a beautiful table, this year it will be at my sister M's house, and we do still behave with dignity (well most of the time anyway), but china and crystal have given way to fall colored pottery and lovely green glass goblets.

Thanksgiving has now become a holiday of culinary experimentation mixed among time tested family recipes, something we never would have done when my mom was alive. No sir, Thanksgiving was a time when you could recite the menu in your sleep, when you could look forward to those tried and true recipes our ancestors had been consuming for centuries...it was, for lack of a better word, a traditional feast.

And not only was it traditional, but it was also quite proper. Emily Post would have seemed like a bit of a slouch at our house growing up. My mother was born and bred a Virginian after all, while dear Ms. Post was from Baltimore...egads, a northerner!

This year, my mother is maybe a little miffed, but more likely smiling down on me as I decided to attempt two rather non traditional desserts for Thanksgiving...French Macarons and Pavlova. The messy images of my kitchen (and yes that #*$% backsplash is still not finished, please Santa, all I want for Christmas is a tile setter who won't freak out when I show him/her my tiles!), are evidence of my crazed baking spree.

I broke all of the rules, making meringue on a rainy day, and making macaron on a rainy day...but hey, I never was very good at following the rules. I figure that no self respecting French baker is waiting around for the perfect sunny day to make a macaron. Heck, I've taken tea at Laduree in Paris on a day when it literally rained, sleeted, snowed, and the sun shone...all in a matter of about 3 hours, and they were serving fresh made macarons, so the rule must be meant to be broken right?!

I'm also not a stickler for perfection, so mine don't look perfect, but they sure do taste pretty close to perfection. What's not to love about that crunchy yet soft cookie filled with dark chocolate ganache...yum!

I thought I would share with you a few conversations my daughter and I have had over the past few days. I think they pretty much exemplify how far from grace, or at least the graces my mother instilled in us, we have fallen!

The first one is regarding her picking up a few things from Whole Foods for us on her way home.

HER: So, Whole Foods has effectively become a war zone. They now have three people directing traffic instead of one.

If there's something that needs to come from there that is for Thanksgiving dinner itself, I'd be happy to risk life and limb. Otherwise, all WF orders will have to be postponed for a weekend in Dec. (there will be a brief period of peace between this week and Christmas). All my shopping in the meantime will be done at the Safeway, which, honestly, isn't much better.

However, if there is something that must arrive by Thanksgiving, please send the list NLT Tuesday evening. I plan to go early morning Wednesday (my work at home day) before the unwashed (actually, let's be real - the Hyper Washed, Yuppie, Pearl Bedecked) masses arrive.

ME: Your life is safe with us, we don't need anything! If you need reinforcements, don't be afraid to call some in! ;-)

(moments later) Ooh, I lied. I need some organic fruit. You can just get me a large, or maybe 2 large containers of mixed organic fruit already cut up. Like one with kiwi, strawberries. Just no melon.

I'm making pavlova so that Court *(my niece who is gluten free)* can have it too. And I will probably make a flourless chocolate cake too.

What veggies would you like? And I will pick up your crab cake *(for my pescatarian daughter)* on Wednesday.

Thanks! Love you!

Her: Mooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Ok fine. I'll grab those. Do you want my flourless chocolate cake recipe? The only thing you'd probably need to buy is Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

I'm good with whatever on veggies. I'm not a huge fan of the corn with marshmallow (weird) but I'll eat the other corn. We made carrot fries recently which were delicious - I'll have to give you the recipe.

Thanks for getting the crab cake! Love you, too.

I then had to explain that it is her aunt's sweet potato recipe that calls for marshmallows...not the corn pudding recipe! So glad we paid for her to go to the "really" smart college! ;-)

But the fun didn't end there, while on gchat last night she and I were swapping dessert making war stories that went a little something like this!

While I was lamenting the fact that I had to make a redneck pastry bag from a freezer bag with a hole cut in one corner to pipe my macarons, she sent me a photo of her flourless chocolate cake which had apparently stuck to the pan. She described it as looking a lot like tectonic plates. After receiving the cell phone image, and knowing how brutal my family can be...we are talking memories like elephants and decades long ribbing, I replied with the following!

Me: Umm, that would be a 8.0 on the richter scale! Are you sure you want to endure the years long grief you will get lol?!

Her: Ugh! I don't have time/resources to make another! What if I just bring it home and Court can eat some at our house? Squishy *(my kids call Mr. Tide Squishy...long story)* and the rest of us can eat the rest.

Me: LOL, no worries! You could always turn it into a gluten free trifle! Aunt Shelley was going to make one, but she may not have already made it, or you can just say the *&(( with it and bring it as is. Tell everyone you were attacked by "occupy" Whole Foods and they messed up your cake!

Her:   They're *(meaning my family)* going to give me supreme *%@#. whatever, I'll figure it out. Maybe I can pretend it turned over in the car?

Me:   Yes, and then the ninjas came! Just go arm wrestle someone in Whole Foods for the last gluten free dessert that is still standing! ;-)

Her:   Bloody hell, I'll just go get more ingredients and make another.

And there you have it, the perfect Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving experience! At least my macarons and pavlova turned out fine...way better than the year I forgot and left the marshmallow topped sweet potatoes under the broiler too long and they caught on fire!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Time Flies

2011-11-21T22:17:00.000-05:00

It seems like just yesterday I was standing overlooking a small French village from this hilltop vineyard!

But that's how time works as you get older, it seems to just fly by without much warning. You turn around and poof, another week, month, year has drifted by and you wonder where in the heck it went, and how it slipped by without you being able to slow it down a little.

To those of you who have so patiently waited to get your photos from my last giveaway that was AGES ago, I apologize! Time has eluded me lately, and I don't even know how, but days have turned to weeks and I just finally ordered the prints tonight! So you will be getting your photos, just not in a timely fashion that I had intended.

Things like a broken leg (not mine but dear Ms. M), work stuff, family stuff, house stuff, have all gotten in the way of my good intentions lately. And now the holidays are upon us...sheesh, can someone stop this crazy ride so that I can get off? Or can you at least teleport me back to the tiny village in France where time seems to have stood still for a few centuries?! Maybe that is the secret, going on permanent vacation where time seems to slow down just a little. I'm all for testing out this theory, anyone want to join me?!

Apparently the universe is telling me to slow down a bit, or at least to not read or send emails anyway. The past few months my emails have been disappearing into never, never land. Or maybe they have just slowed down and slipped into another dimension.

So if you haven't heard from me, or if I haven't heard from you...well we are apparently communicating in my fantasy land where time slows down to a snail's pace. At first I thought it was just my gmail, which has always given me a little bit of a fit, but my brother and our realtor have also not been receiving my emails, and those are on my regular ISP account...sigh!

So let's just all move to the tiny village in Northern France and walk to each other's houses instead of emailing, spend hours eating a meal, enjoy long walks, and I can hand out my giveaway items instead of having to order and mail them. Sound like a plan?!

If you don't hear from me before Thanksgiving, just assume that I'm some place wonderful, and not banging my head against my keyboard which is far more likely!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Through Rose Colored Glasses

2011-11-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

These are the last of the roses for this year. They put on quite a show, and I enjoyed every last blossom, but now it's time for them to take a little rest until the springtime.

Sometimes it is just better to view life through rose colored glasses, or at least with a few rose blossoms by your side. I hope that things in your world are rosy right now!

And Then There Was One

2011-11-15T23:28:00.000-05:00

My dad had a whole slew of sayings he used to describe certain situations. Some were more tasteful than others, like when he would come in on a very cold evening he would say that it was colder than a well diggers ___...I'll let you fill in the blank.

On days when he had lots to do but felt as though he was spinning his wheels a little, he would say he'd been fiddle farting around. See what I mean about his "colorful" way with words?! No wonder I became a writer with those genes! ;-)

Today, I did a bit of fiddle farting around myself. I left home at 12:30 pm and didn't get home until almost 9 pm. And although I did get some things accomplished, like having a great lunch with a friend, visiting another friend in the hospital, and getting all of my hair chopped off, some of that time was spent getting nothing done. Or at least not everything I wanted to get done.

Like getting all of the photos for the winners of my last giveaway sent out...I'm working on that so please bear with me.

I also spent a little time this morning playing around with some new textures from French Kiss Textures. I love when I find pretty new textures to play with, it makes my day. Both of the photos above have only French Kiss textures applied to them, and I'm really happy with how they turned out.

When I went outside this morning I realized that almost overnight our trees have shed their colorful coats and are now naked in preparation for the winter. All of our trees save one, the one pictured above. A rebel of a maple tree that is still awash in shades of gold tinged with orange.

I will be interested to see how long it can hang onto its showy foliage. And then there was one!

Call Me Crazy

2011-11-13T15:51:00.000-05:00

Oh go ahead, I will accept the title of crazy, for any number of reasons.

I'm crazy behind schedule on returning emails (those that even make it through, either coming or going *ugh*!), reading comments, and finishing up work.

I'm crazy ready to get that #*%$ oriental rug out of my living room that matches nothing anymore!

But I'm crazy because I can't decide what the heck I want to replace it with...hemp? grass? kilim? sheepskin?...*sigh*!

I'm crazy for hanging some of my own artwork in my house. It seems kind of weird to me to showcase your own artwork, but hey I'm loving it anyway!

I'm crazy for wanting to get rid of my big green sofa that is in perfect condition to replace it with something...anything...linen!

I'm crazy for wanting to blow out that wall where the chest is and put in a fireplace, for nights like tonight when you just want to sit in front of a fireplace and do nothing but watch the flames dance.

I'm crazy for wandering around the house looking for a place to stick some stalks of wheat.

I'm crazy for wanting to add on to my house so that my garage door doesn't enter into my formal living room! Ok, that one really isn't so crazy!!

After driving 2 1/2 hours home last night and seeing houses all lit up for Christmas, apparently I am really crazy for having these all over my house.

Yes, I am one of those bah humbug people who refuses to decorate before Thanksgiving. I've tried it once or twice...throwing out a few Christmas'y items before the last gobble is over, but it's just not me.

I don't mind it if others do it, but its just not my thing. You see, I have lots of beautiful Thanksgiving decor, from turkeys to acorns to pumpkins. So I embrace everything that is November, and I reserve Christmas for December, and when I'm lazy a bit of January too!

I have this feeling that if I overlooked my turkeys, never letting them see the light of day each November, they might come alive and kill me in my sleep...call me crazy! :-)

There's No Place Like Home

2011-11-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

Sorry about my wonky watermark, and apparently Photoshop wasn't interested in watermarking the other two images...maybe it's smarter than I am and realized that I hadn't downsized it properly! ;-)

Today, as I snapped these pictures of the bluebirds in my backyard who were busy trying to make a place to call home for the winter in our bluebird box, I couldn't help but think of what this day really means to me.

I've mentioned before that politics are not something I very often discuss, because I feel we all have biases, personal reasons, and ideology that shapes what we think about various things from religion to politics. So like the old saying goes, I think it's best to steer clear of those discussions unless you are with close and very open minded friends, but certainly not in a public forum, unless you don't mind the mud slinging that ensues.

But as I watched these sweet creatures making their nest, I couldn't help but think that no matter where you live, who you vote for, or what you believe, we all want a place that we can call home. And as I thought that, my mind wandered and began to think about all of the men and women who throughout history have sacrificed, some during wartime, others not, for something they believed in. Something that often took them, or continues to take them so far from the places they call home.

Today I will honor those people by wearing a red poppy and hoping that for those who lost their lives so far from home, or for those who are now so far from home, that they will take some comfort in knowing that at least for today, they will be remembered. Happy Veterans Day!

Too Much Fun

2011-11-10T14:52:00.000-05:00

What is it about going away for a weekend or a week...or more, that makes everything seem more fun, no matter where you are?! Coming back home is always nice, but after spending almost 5 hours on the phone yesterday trying to get the financing on my parent's house straightened out so that the contract doesn't run out yet again, well, it just isn't fun!

My recommendation to anyone out there who is listening...NEVER, sell your house to purchasers who will be using state financing, at least not in the state of Maryland! For 5 1/2 months, we have waited to go to settlement, and in another few days our contract will once again expire, and frankly we are done! The worst part of it all is that now 4 wheelchair bound women will be without a permanent place to live, thanks to our ever so efficient state employees. But with broken promise after broken promise from the state, we as a family can't afford to keep waiting and not have our house on the market!

Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest! Now on to the fun stuff, our recent trip to Indiana. Mr. Tide spent most of his formative years growing up in a suburb of Indianapolis, so it's the place he calls home. His brother and his family, along with his parents still live there, as well as his closest friends.

It had been awhile since we had been out that way, so we decided to head out for a whirlwind trip to see family and to help celebrate the 50th birthday of one of his dearest friends. We landed late in the afternoon on Saturday, made a quick stop at his folk's house in Zionsville, and then headed out to the party, which was just a small gathering of the birthday boy's family and another friend from high school, and his wife and son.

When you marry, you gain a whole new set of friends through your spouse, and luckily for me, Mr. Tide has very good taste in friends! And those friends in turn have had very good taste in wives, so I never turn down an opportunity to visit with any of them. Each time we visit we normally get to see a few of his friends, but we never seem to be able to see everyone, which is always a little sad. But hey, that just means we need to go out there more often, right?!

On Sunday, my brother and sister in law, along with one of our nieces joined us for brunch at his parent's house, which was great. We don't see them nearly enough, and it is always fun catching up on how their lives are going. Then on Sunday, we treated my in laws to dinner at a local restaurant not far from where they live called The Loft.

Before we headed out to Indy, I had gone online to check to see if there were any organic restaurants, and low and behold The Loft came up right near where we would be staying, so I booked a dinner reservation right then and there. The restaurant is part of an organic dairy called Traders Point Creamery, and it is housed in the upper level of a cool barn...hence the name "the loft." To say our food was yummy would not do it justice...not even close! We started the meal with a cheese plate, and I have to say that both the various cheeses and the chicken casserole I had for my entree turned out to be some of the best food I've eaten outside of France! Next time we'll be sure to save room for some of their organic ice cream! So if you live near The Loft, I highly recommend it! Yes, it's a little pricey, but for me, it was worth every penny!

On Monday, I took my poor in laws on a bit of a wild goose chase looking for a good pair of walking shoes. I had done some reading online and had found some recommendations for shoes that seemed to suit my needs, and since we live in the boondocks, being near a major city meant I could visit a few shoe stores to find what I was looking for.

After a few misses, one store was closed the day before, and when we did get there it was not what we were expecting and only sold inserts, we decided to just browse around the area and pop into a few little shops...always my favorite thing to do!

I don't know if it's because I grew up in a rural area, so no malls...even now our closest decent mall is almost 2 hours away...but I just love small privately owned stores! Oliver's Twist is one of those cute little shops that I would frequent if I lived closer. Just look at their window with all of the vintage typewriters! As a writer and now a photographer, I am instantly drawn to vintage cameras and typewriters, so I knew that I had to pop in for a closer look.

I was a bad blogger and didn't bring my camera when we went shopping, thank goodness for cell phones!

The shop is located in Carmel, Indiana...which my daughter and I jokingly refer to as Caramel, don't ask me why! And it is run by a mother daughter duo who just happened to both be working the day I stopped by.

The shop is mostly stationary, and boy oh boy did they have some beautiful stationary, cards, and invitations, there are even some letterpress items made by the owner in her basement! She makes letterpress cards in her basement, runs a shop, and has a tiny baby...how do these young women do it all?! Oh yeah, her mom helps her...yay mom! :-)

They also carry a few gift items like candles, baby clothing, partyware, and even books. I snagged the Lollia bath salts on sale, and I can't wait to take a nice long soak. I deserve one really after my day yesterday!

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you will know that I am a bit of a stationary hound. I just love a beautiful card with a handwritten note in it, there is something so basic yet so personal about them. So of course I picked up a pack of assorted cards while I was there. There were so many to choose from it was hard picking one! I'm telling you, Mr. Tide, and our bank account, are both really happy we don't live any closer than we do, because I can see my stationary addiction becoming a problem if we did live nearby!

Though I have to admit that I'm not the best person for sending out Christmas cards, I might just have to find a reason to add some people to my list this year since I picked up these beauties!

Maybe all of the chaos in my life this past year (not all bad but still chaotic), has brought me to a place where I crave simplicity, and these cards had me at hello. But once again, I truly had a tough time deciding. There was one set of cards with the most beautiful drawing of a sleigh on it, and they had trimmed out the sleigh with something that looked like shimmering snow...but it wasn't glitter, those were gorgeous! But I was a good girl and only bought enough to send to a few family and friends.

If you live in the Indy metro area and you need some gorgeous stationary, invitations, or more...stop by Oliver's Twist and tell them Kat from Low Tide High Style said hi! Or you can always visit them online to purchase something by clicking HERE! And no, I'm not a paid spokes"model" for them...though they did beg me to be one...I jest, I jest! They were super sweet though and I hope they continue to do well, because I love these little stores and support them whenever I can!

So that was our trip in a nutshell, it was too short, we flew home early on Tuesday morning but it was wonderful none the less. I have to give a warm thank you to my in laws, pictured above with Mr. Tide and his brother, for going WAY out of their way to buy me everything organic to help with my adrenal issues, to my brother in law and his family for spending time with us, and to our dear friends G & C for hosting such a great dinner, and to M & B for staying up until 2:30 am with me yacking their ears off...it was too much fun!

And to Jen of The Cottage Nest, another Indy girl and blogger crafty girl extraordinaire, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet while I was in your "hood," but next time, I promise! So get that house all spruced up and ready, I'll be there with my camera in hand when we next head off to Indiana!

P.S. For those of you with Whole Foods in your neck of the woods, you can purchase your own Traders Point Creamery yogurt...it's yummy and that glass bottle is too cool!

Welcome Home

2011-11-08T19:34:00.000-05:00

(Kim Klassen free Phoebe texture was used on both photos)

After a wonderful few days spent with Mr. Tide's family and some old friends (more on that later), we were greeted at home by our son Bugs, and two very happy furry friends.

Mr. Quinn and Misty Belle followed us everywhere we went in the house as if to say, "Welcome Home Mom and Dad, we missed you!"

Although we know that our son Bugs takes VERY good care of these two while we are away, he also tends to bend the rules a little...ie. doggies sleeping in bed! When asked about it, Misty rolled over, looked the other way, and pleaded the 5th! ;-)

I will be spending the week getting caught up on work stuff, and I will be ordering prints to send to the winners of my giveaway, plus getting laundry and house work back on track. Going away for a few days is always a lot of work, but seeing those you love on both ends, makes it all worth while! Thanks Mom and Dad Tide for all you did to meet my wacky organic eating needs, and thank you to our dear friends for a truly wonderful get together...even if we did stay out until 2:30 in the morning! Thank goodness for daylight savings time!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Feeling Lucky?

2011-11-04T21:41:00.000-04:00

So we are zooming around the house trying to tie up loose ends before leaving tomorrow. My email has been acting up...again! And I finished up my last story just in time to hit the friendly skies, so I think we are on track, well as much as we ever are before a trip. I would like to think that every nook and cranny of my house is sparkling clean and that the dogs won't shed while I'm gone...*cue dream sequence music*, but I'm way too realistic for that, so it is what it is.

But before I left, I promised that I would announce the winners of my latest Giveaway...so here goes. Now, because I'm stressed, behind, etc. etc. ...I just had Mr. Tide rattle off 2 numbers between 0 and 28 instead of doing the whole Random.org thing. Don't worry, I didn't let him look at the comments so there's no bias, and he is one of the most honest people I know, plus he picked #4 to begin with...which was my comment, so you see what I mean?!

So here are his picks (be sure to read to the end of the post though)

#7 Kim @ Savvy Southern Style

and

#26 Kate @ Chronicles of a Country Girl

I'm thrilled that both of these ladies won, they are both longtime readers and wonderful cheerleaders of my photography! Congrats Kim and Kate, please send me your addresses, and which photo you would prefer and if you want an 8 x 12 or something smaller.

So, as I was packing up my camera gear I had a moment of clarity, I thought...why not thank everyone who commented by sending them a photo?! So...to those of you who weren't picked randomly by Mr. Tide, you are all still winners. That means you too Marcia...even though you said you wouldn't enter since you won a picture awhile back. I will be sending each of you a 5 x 7 of your choice. All I need from each of you is:

1. Which photo you would like, if you already left it in the comments section, that's fine.

2. A mailing address for me to ship it to.

Thank you all for your continued support of my blog, my photography, and my crazy life! Even when I don't reply back, please know that I do appreciate each and every one of you, and this is my little way of saying Thank You!

The Golden Hour

2011-11-03T21:31:00.000-04:00

A few days ago my neighbor called me to say that it really wasn't fair to the other trees in the neighborhood the way my maple was showing off this year.

I hadn't given it much thought, but she is right, it is a bit of a show off, and one both she and I greatly appreciate for being so boastful.

The leaves have not been as colorful or vibrant as they have in years past, but that's ok, everyone needs a little break every now and then, right?

Photographers often refer to the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset as the "golden" hour, but this time of year that golden glow seems to extend just a bit longer and I find it to be one of the prettiest times of year in terms of light.

It's been a crazy week, filled with ups and downs, frustration and jubilation, and a little bit of feeling yucky just for good measure. But tonight, after having to cancel a lunch date with a friend who I've tried to hook up with since summer, and not making dinner for my friend "J" who is undergoing chemo (for fear I might give her something), I decided to just go outside with the dogs and enjoy that beautiful golden glow.

This time of year there really isn't a need for Photoshop or increased saturation, Mother Nature has taken care of all that for us. So you can just point and shoot, knowing that whatever you capture will make you feel warm inside when you look at it later...though adding a cup of tea to the mix while you are resizing pictures never hurts either.

.

Even the inside of my house was aglow this evening, and you have to love it when your crystal decanters, some of which are antiques, and your mercury glass leaf ornaments look like works of art.

I will be gone for a few days, the Midwest has requested I make a visit. Ok, that's not really true, parts of the country can't actually request your presence, but if they could then I would have been sent a pretty embossed invitation asking me to come for the next few days, so off I'll go.

I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend, and that you find a way to bask in your own special glow. Oh, and I will be back tomorrow to announce the winners of my latest giveaway, I wouldn't leave you hanging, even if the Midwest does request the pleasure of my company!

Apple of My Eye

2011-11-02T11:16:00.001-04:00

I love objects that are both utilitarian and beautiful, like the stoneware jug pictured above. I think what draws me to these items for use as design elements in my home is the fact that although we use them decoratively today, their intended use was something far different.

The original owners of objects such as old crocks, jugs, baskets, etc. used them to store things, they were a convenience that they likely paid little attention to from day to day.

Yet on some level they must have thought about their form as well as their function, because they are often just as pretty as they are useful.

I have wanted a wire basket for ages, and silly me, I was so busy snapping pictures while I was in Europe that I didn't bring home a single thing for myself...not even a lovely wire basket! I hate the practical side of myself sometimes, the one who thinks, "oh that will be hard to get home, or do you really need that?!" I sometimes kick myself when I return from someplace special for not picking up things that can only be found in those specific places.

Lucky for me the world is now a global marketplace, and reproductions are everywhere. I'm not a big fan of reproductions, and whenever possible I will always go for the real thing, but this time I made an exception.

A few weekends ago when we went to stay with our daughter, I ventured in to a shop on the way home that I've always wanted to pop into. I had tried several times, but I was traveling through at odd hours and was never able to catch them when they were open.

The shop is called Coco Blanca, and as the name implies, it is filled with wonderful tone on tone items in shades of cream and white that make you want to sell everything you have and start over. They were unloading new merchandise the afternoon Mr. Tide and I stopped in, and I could have picked up a few pieces of furniture, glassware, and even jewelry, had I not been in a hurry to get home to dogs. I did however, pick up the wire basket you see in the photos above. I knew it would be a great prop for photo shoots, and when not in front of my camera, I knew it would serve a useful purpose by holding my veggies and fruits. You have to love something that is both beautiful and serves a purpose in your life!

I will definitely be back to Coco Blanca. I have my eye on a piece that might just work for my dining room makeover...yes I'm busy changing things up in that room...stay tuned!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for my latest Giveaway. If you haven't yet...click HERE to get all of the details!

No Tricks, Just Treats Giveaway

2011-10-31T15:06:00.003-04:00

This Halloween I won't be handing out candy, or even carving a pumpkin, which makes me sad. When the kids were little, they got to each pick out a pumpkin design idea, most of which weren't in those pattern books you can find everywhere these days.

The requests ranged from eagles to animated characters and everything in between, and it allowed me to get my inner artist on and have fun creating something special for each of them. In our old neighborhood, we had lots of kids come to the house to trick or treat, and I loved hearing them ooh and ahh over those fun pumpkin creations while I ooh'd and ahh'd back at their creative costumes. I would spend hours on each pumpkin and then hustle to get the kids dressed, eat dinner, do homework, and then hit the neighborhood for some good old fashioned trick or treating. A few of those years it was just me and the kids, as Mr. Tide was out of town for work. I have no clue how I was so organized back then and seemingly so disorganized now...ahh youth!

I still decorate for Halloween, and the first year we moved here I even carved an elaborate pumpkin, which neither of the kids really seemed to care too much about. And since we don't get any trick or treaters, because we live on a private lane where there aren't any young kids, well it just seems a little silly to go all out. Or maybe I've just gotten lazy?!

So this year, in the spirit of treat or treating...blog style, I've decided to host a Giveaway. Yup, come trick or treat here on my blog. I will be giving away one of my 8 x 12 photos (or if you prefer a 5 x 7) to two of my readers.

All you have to do is visit my website by clicking HERE , pick out the photo you would like should you win, and then come back here and say trick or treat and tell me which image you would like using the file name on the bottom right of each photo (you have to click on the image in order to see the file name). And if you've seen an image on my blog that isn't on my website, never fear, you can pick one of those too!

If you would like more chances to win, you can do any of the following:

1. Add the Giveaway to your sidebar, and come back and leave a "separate" comment telling me you did so.

2. Tweet or Facebook the Giveaway for another chance, don't forget to leave another comment letting me know.

The Giveaway is open to everyone!

I hope each of you has a very Happy Halloween and I will randomly draw both winners names on Friday and post their names that evening!

Simple Minded

2011-10-28T15:30:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support, and I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one with too much holiday decor...for every season!

After donating some of my fall items, I have found that the pieces I decided to keep mean even more to me and look even better now that they can stand alone.

I've decided that my new approach to holiday decorating will be more simple minded, kind of like me! I have always incorporated natural elements into all of my holiday decor, but I feel like now I will put even more emphasis on bringing the outdoors in, and trying to embrace the less is more philosophy that I am so drawn to these days.

I find that everywhere I turn I am seeking simple, clean lined items that are easy on the eye and super functional, like these cute little white cafe au lait style bowls I picked up yesterday.

I had passed by these many times at Target, and I really loved them but talked myself out of them each time. Then, while surfing blogdom the other day I saw these on someone else's blog and thought, you know I really should just buy them. I can't remember which blog it was...sorry...that would be my simple mindedness that I mentioned earlier. Whoever it was, they had found these on sale and picked some up...I was not so lucky, at my Target they weren't reduced.

While I was at Target, searching for my perfect little bowls, I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in quite awhile. Her daughter and our son Bugs had gone all through school together, and as parents of older kids know, once your children leave middle school and beyond, you hardly ever see the parents anymore, so it was nice to catch up.

She looked great, which she always did, and she had her arms full of stuff for her house, which was always beautifully put together. When I told her what my mission for the day was, she mentioned that if I could wait until Sunday, the bowls would likely be on sale here too. Not a snowball's chance in you know where of that happening. Along with my simple mindedness, I'm also horribly impatient. And the thought of slogging my way back over there, which is about 1/2 hour away to save maybe $4 just wasn't enough incentive for me to wait...sorry Mr. Tide! ;-)

After walking through my living/dining room for the past few days with it looking a lot like a bad, bad photo studio a la lighting equipment and props scattered all around, I finally had had enough and set to clearing out some of the chaos.

Things are looking better in there, but I still have a few tubs of stuff to put back in the garage, but that will wait until tonight or tomorrow. My mission today, besides a meeting I had earlier today, is to go buy some new walking shoes. Ever since we returned from Europe, where we estimate that we walked between 6 and 8 miles a day...sometimes more, I have tried to continue that by walking at least 2 1/2 miles every day. It's not nearly as much fun to walk down our little lane instead of the streets of France and Germany, but where we live is beautiful and quiet, so I can't complain.

Before I gave all of my props and equipment the 'ole heave ho out of the living/dining room, I did take a few more still life shots, just for the heck of it.

I wanted to create a few that had a feminine edge to them, so I used some of my great grandmother and grandmother's antique pearls, and of course some pink roses from our rose bush.

These will be the last roses of the season, which always makes me a little sad, but I know they will be back next spring looking and smelling as wonderful as ever! The winds of change showed up last night, quite literally as it was a blustery evening, and today there is a chill in the air and gray skies which look a little too much like snow for my liking!

I got a lovely email from Lili today and she said that up her way in Maine they are expecting a record snowfall this weekend! And Joan did a post today showing the 2 inches of snow they received last night! EEK, can you imagine?! The thought of snow in October is way more frightening than Halloween...at least for me it is!

I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend!

Beauty in the Breakdown

2011-10-27T12:42:00.001-04:00

I'm so glad you all enjoyed hearing about my new camera bag in the last post. I'm in no way affiliated with Kelly Moore but wanted to give a shout out to a great company. I hope that those of you who said you might be looking for a good camera bag will have the opportunity to own one, I know you will love yours as much as I love mine!

This week is one of those crazy weeks where you have a list of emails, phone calls, and appointments that stare you down each morning when you wake up. I am slowly addressing each of those, but there never seem to be enough hours in the day.

When I feel buried by "real" life stuff, I sometimes do the complete opposite of what I should be doing, and veer off into projects that could wait...like playing around with photography. I blame people like Kate for this, since she always posts such gorgeous pictures, both her own and those of others, on her blog. In a recent post she included some amazing images from flickr and one of those was a still life that was breathtaking.

I've been enamored with still life photography for a long time, really since the first time I stumbled upon an example of it in a cookbook of all places. I've longed to recreate what Dutch Masters of old captured in their paintings, the subtle use of light and shadow, vivid colors, and an almost 3-D quality that draws the viewer in.

The people who are really good at this type of photography make it look amazingly easy, but it is not. It takes more than a simple knowledge of photography, there are also things like lighting, angles, and most importantly...composition to consider. The end result should draw the eye to one primary part of the image, similar to having a star of a show, and the other pieces are simply supporting characters meant to create a sense of place and scene.

Texture and background are also important, and I've used a variety of textures, mostly by Florabella and Kim Klassen. If you haven't signed up for Kim's very generous and always lovely free textures, you really should.

I think that to really become a master at creating images that resemble artistic master paintings, it wouldn't hurt to have a background in art, which I am sorely lacking. I feel like artists have an innate sense of composition, color, and lighting, which are all things I have to study and think about. The other key ingredient is to have the proper lighting equipment. I've been fortunate to find used lighting equipment (a soft box is a must when you are starting out with still life photography) through friends and contacts who were getting out of the business. Lighting is crucial in creating the look you want in the finished image.

The process of breaking down an image has become a key element and driving force behind taking my photography to the next step. If you surf the web enough and stare at enough photos you begin to see the way certain images come into being. From there you can create your images using your own sense of style.

Although there were other things I should have been doing, this wasn't really a waste of time, I will be adding them to my portfolio on my website, so it was kind of like doing work! ;-)

And speaking of beauty in the breakdown, the wonderfully wise A-M posted an article about decluttering (you can read it here) on the very day I had done some decluttering of my own. Having 7 bins, yes I said 7, of fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving decor was feeling like a wee bit too much...well that and the fact that Mr. Tide snidely said, "so...fall is your favorite time of year?...because you have more bins for it than you have for Christmas!"...so I knew it was time.

I've always been someone who goes through my things regularly and gets rid of them. Moving 6 times in 7 years when we were first married makes you appreciate the notion of packing light. But even though this house is much smaller than our last, and we did get rid of a ton of stuff when we moved, I've been a bit neglectful about taking stock and getting rid of things as frequently as I once did. Throw in the fact that my parents both passed away and so I inherited a lifetime's worth of their stuff to boot, and well, things had gotten little out of hand when it came to my holiday decor hoarding.

So I sat there in my living room, surrounded by tubs full of stuff, some of which we had had since we first got married, and some of which my parents used to decorate their own home, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Right then and there I broke down...something I almost never do! Mr. Tide came to see what was wrong, and I blubbered and sputtered about how it was just hard, getting rid of things that held memories from a simpler time. He of course told me not to get rid of the stuff if it made me sad. I explained that I was ready, it's a complicated emotion, but that it was just hard letting go.

By the time I got my shower and we loaded up the huge bin (I emptied 3 bins total) to take to the donation place I was fine...I felt lighter really, like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. So when I read the article linked above I knew I had made the right decision, I was ready to get rid of something old to welcome something new into my life...a little breathing room perhaps! So there really is Beauty in the Breakdown, and sometimes it's best to Let Go!

If you would like to learn more about creating Still Life Photos, click HERE